Cameron: A Genderbended Story of Catherine
by joshuasumter951
Summary: Vivian Brooks has been with her long-time boyfriend, Kameron, for years. But just when she was one step into marriage, she finds herself in an affair with the blonde bombshell, Cameron! She then begins having nightmares that force her to climb for her life. Will she survive the trials and tribulations of love, or fall to temptations? With cover art by DeviantART user, Jen-Jen-Rose.
1. Dramatis Personae

**A NOTE ABOUT THIS STORY:  
** The following is a retelling of _Catherine_. This time, it is gender swapped. Contains some changes to the story, dialogues, and comedic writing.

Viewer/Reader Discretion is advised. Please support the whole, entire story.

* * *

 **DRAMATIS PERSONAE**

 **Vivian Brooks** \- An indecisive, lifelong bachelorette and a system engineer who's trying to escape the pressures of adult life: Her job, love life, prospect of marriage... You name it. Her only goal is drifting aimlessly through life. She also gets swept away by the actions of two men in her life.

 **Kameron McBride** \- Vivian's loyal and steadfast boyfriend, who wants something more and works for a clothing company as an office manager. He and Vivian were classmates in high school, but they only started dating after they met again at their reunion. He's been thinking a little about their relationship and is fully commit to Vivian.

 **Cameron** \- The seductive boy who suddenly appears to Vivian. He steps into Vivian's life from out of nowhere and immediately throws her relationship with Kameron in jeopardy. Without warning, everything in Vivian's life becomes twisted around him.

 **Jonna 'Jonni' Ariga** \- An idealistic woman searching for her soulmate. She's an old friend of Vivian, Orlanda Haddick, and Eric Anderson. She, too, is a regular of the Stray Sheep, and she works at her mother's used car dealership, which she hopes to inherit. She maintains an outwardly subdued demeanor, but she has an optimistic view of the value of true love and holds fast to the idea of waiting for her "one true love" before getting married.

 **Tobia "Tobi" Nebbins** \- A novice in the ways of love, constantly seeing life through rose-colored glasses. She's a coworker of Jonna Ariga and began coming to the Stray Sheep in order to make new friends. She may lack some maturity, but she's a kind-hearted young woman looking to settle down with the first man to capture her heart. She has a thing for older men, and is currently smitten with Eric Anderson, the waiter at the bar.

 **Eric Anderson** \- The waiter at the Stray Sheep. A friendly sort, he often joins in the conversations of his customers. He, Vivian, Jonna, and Orlanda all grew up together, and he always makes a point of stopping by their table and sharing the latest gossip. He's also aware of Tobi's crush on him, and more than a little amused by her puppy love.

 **Orlanda Haddick** \- A laid-back girl enjoying a carefree lifestyle. She's a regular at the Stray Sheep and is a longtime friend of Vivian, Jonna, and Eric. Outside of the Stray Sheep, she works at the same place Vivian does, so she could be considered Vivian's co-worker at their technology firm.

 **Boss** \- The owner and proprietor of the Stray Sheep. No one knows her name, but everyone's happy to simply refer to her as "Boss." Always dapper, always the proper lady, she uses her experience in ways of the heart to give advice to her customers in times of need. With a smooth, easygoing style of speaking, she's quite a charmer, and she was apparently very much the man's lady in her youth.


	2. Greetings from a 'new host'

**Greetings from a 'new host'**

 _When the night sky is filled with glamour, a lovely story awaits you..._

Hello there, and welcome back to the Golden Playhouse Special Feature. I'm your anonymous host for the evening.

Oh, wait a minute - You were expecting Trisha, The Midnight Venus, right? Well, she kinda asked me to take over the show for a while, telling me that she's with her new consort.

Anyway, have you heard about this scary rumor before? They say, if you fall in a dream and don't wake up before you land, you die in real life!

Why am I asking you that? Because tonight's story is _Cameron_ , an unconventional romantic horror. Or maybe it's a paranormal romance, I don't know.

It's the story about a woman with a certain 'curse' as she's having a terrifying and dramatic week.

Like I said, this is a romantic fiction involving supernatural beings. Blending real with elements woven into an alternate version of our world in fantasies involving vampires, demons, you name it. There may be even more "normal" manifestations of the paranormal—humans with psychic abilities, witches, ghosts. Even extraterrestrial romances can also fall beneath that umbrella.

Our heroine in this story is named Vivian Brooks, age 32. She is an earnest and kind lady. But one day, we began to see her have terrifying nightmares! And to top it all off, amidst the storm of temptations around her, a torrent of sweet seduction swoops down upon her as she had an unexpected encounter. Well, she ain't no playgirl, I'll give you that. I mean, doesn't seem a little...convenient?

Will Vivian be able to overcome all the massive "blocks" in her life? Maybe she'll take a road less traveled. Well, let's find out as we're about to savor the marriage of pleasure and pain!

Just raise the curtains and enjoy the show, until we meet again...


	3. DAY 1

**Day 1**

 _My name is Vivian Brooks! My life is a love story and a horror movie! It was the most terrifying week of my life, and I'm so scared!_

 _And you'll be, too, once you hear about it. You'll be scared and scarred. Scare-arr-red! That's a new word I just made up, scared and scarred combined, which is what you'll be._

 _Usually, I lead a very normal life, go to work, hang with friends, see my man._

 _My man was Kameron McBride, same age as me. We were classmates in high school. I was a cheerleader, and he was, like, any other normal student, but we finally hit it off in our high school reunion and been together ever since._

 _Afterwards, when he was so depressed about being undesirable, so I ran to his side in the middle of the night and comforted him. I learned that he was having dating problems and I started to give him advice, but we ended up falling for each other ourselves. So, yeah, we DID hit it off._

 **5 years ago, ...  
** **Kameron McBride's room...**

"That was...unexpected," Vivian said to Kameron.

The two were on Kameron's bed, unclothed, for their clothes were on the floor. Vivian and Kameron just had the best sex of their lives.

"I haven't felt like this in a long while," Vivian continued. "I'm really taking a liking to you. I'm so glad that we met up at that reunion."

"No kidding," Kameron nodded. "It's the least I can do. After all, you were the only one who can always listen to my problems."

"I've got such a hunger for these feelings...," Vivian said. "I know you have some hungers as well, don't you?"

"Yeah, I've really into this for you," Kameron laughed.

"Well, then... let's celebrate!" Vivian replied as she crawled herself down on Kameron.

Kameron covered himself and Vivian under the sheets as they laughed and resumed their sexy love time.

 _Yeah, that's what happened. But he was the one to have the hots for me. Anyways, that was the romantic part. Because Kameron is the best thing to ever live on my life._

* * *

 **1st - Day  
** **"Chrono Rabbit"  
** **16:32**

"Hey, are you okay?" The worried voice dragged Vivian back to reality. Her boyfriend, Kameron, sat on the opposite side with her.

The eyes behind his glasses looked at Vivian. He left an intense impression but would definitely be classed as handsome.

Noticing this, Vivian finally remembered that she had come to a café, "Sorry. I guess I'm just kinda tired."

Kameron frowned a bit, "Are you okay? You've been looking a little bit pale."

"I've been working all morning," Lifting her own cup, Vivian gulped down the contents. She could hear the sounds of other customers conversing and the clatter of cutlery from around her.

It was mid-afternoon, and the café was dazzlingly bright, the atmosphere excessively sanitary. Putting down the cup, she massaged the corners of her eyes with her fingertips.

"Looks like you're working pretty hard," Kameron's fingers ceased their tapping on the table, his expression softening, "Anyway, were you getting paid extra for it?"

"I... don't know."

"You're impossible," Kameron said. "You need to keep an eye on these kinds of things."

Vivian felt her fatigue double. She was grateful that he was worried about her, but she was uncomfortable with the way he talked to her like he was her father, and the way he seemed to look down on people.

Vivian reached out for her steaming cup. Taking a sip, the bitterness permeated her mouth. She frowned unconsciously.

"Here you go. Two sugars." Without delay, Kameron reached out and plopped sugar cubes into her cup.

"Oh, thanks...," Vivian thanked him as the white cubes were dyed black, sinking down into the liquid.

When Vivian looked up, Kameron was watching her intently as he said, "Hey... How many years is it that we've been together now?"

"5 years...," Vivian answered as she looked lovingly at Kameron.

They were childhood friends, so they had known each other for a long time. It was only in the last few years that they had begun dating, however. So many things have changed in that time. They had been together when they first began dating. If nothing else, she had felt that they were both on an equal footing. Did he feel the same?

"So, what's up?" Vivian asked.

"My parents have been calling a lot lately. Asking me how things are," Kameron said almost in a whisper, lowering his gaze, "I'm not getting any younger, and I guess they're worried about things. They get that I'm busy with work, though."

"Things are just fine as they are, though, right?" Vivian replied.

It was an irrelevant topic. Perhaps Kameron wanted to keep living the way he was, but that wasn't what his parents wanted.

"I suppose so." With his face glum, Kameron rested his chin in his hands.

Vivian sighed, "I guess I'd better go."

"Really? That's pretty sudden of you."

Picking up the bill, she began to walk, "Come on, hurry!"

"Okay..." Vivian stood up. Realizing that she still had coffee left, she drank it down in a single gulp where she stood.

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **21:05**

 _But the scary part was that today, when I got to my fav bar after work with my friends, there was news that Paulina, one of my school friends, was dead. Murdered. Cause by unknown reasons, without a trace._

The bar was packed with groups of people who had finished work for the day. Their chatter and the smell of alcohol mingled with tobacco smoke, filling the room.

Vivian rested her elbows on the table, staring absent-mindlessly up at the TV on the wall.

"In the case, the body of a young woman was found in the home she occupied alone...," came the faint voice of the female newsreader from the speakers.

On the screen was the exterior of a building not that different from Vivian's apartment, the kind you might see anywhere. Yellow tape reading "KEEP OUT" was plastered across the entrance. Police cars and ambulances appeared to be at the scene.

"The exact circumstances of her death remain as yet unspecified, and the police are looking at the case from all angles. The police have been pursuing a similar line of inquiry these past few months in the wake of several similar suspicious deaths, and..."

"So, uh, Kameron told me how his father's been calling him," Vivian tells her friend, Jonni and her co-worker, Tobi. "He said he's not worried about it, though."

"Oh, Feather's totally gonna take it, right, Vivi?" Tobi said to Vivian, watching Men's Wrestling and munching down on a snack. "So, who're you betting on? Come on, pick one!"

"You kidding? Men's Wrestling? How the hell would I know...?" Vivian sighed.

"Doesn't that mean, 'Marry me!'?" Jonni said, putting her sake cup down on the table. "Because it sounds to me...like he finally wants you to tie the knot."

Jonni, Tobi, and Vivian sat around a box seat. It had been a custom of theirs these past few years to meet up with good friends there on weeknights.

"You think so, too...?" Vivian asked in reply.

"What else could it mean?" Jonni said in surprise, letting out an emotive sigh. "I've known you since we were kids, but wow... You, married, huh?"

"Hey! Nothing's set in stone yet." Vivian replied.

"What...? You don't want to marry your boyfriend?" Jonnni's eyebrows furrowed as she peered at Vivian.

 _That's a tough question_ , Vivian thought.

"It's not that..." Vivian put her thoughts into order. "I love him, but... I just haven't thought about marriage. I don't think we need to run out and get married."

As Vivian worried about her problems, Tobi down sat beside Jonni, eating up a snack bar and watching Men's Wrestling. She was around ten years younger than Jonni and Vivian, and she still seemed like a mischievous kid.

Vivian sighed, returning to her conversation with Jonni, "We're comfortable where we are. To think, his job's always so important to him. But he once been the fun-loving type, but now he's ambitious."

"Well, I'm still looking for my soulmate, that's all," Jonni replied, "...I'm not like you. I've already told my man that I'm not interested in marrying him."

"What if you never meet your soulmate?" Vivian asked.

"Then, I'll never get married. Isn't that obvious?"

"That is so like you, chieftess!" Tobi interjected. There was no tension in her voice or behavior. She had no idea how long she'd been listening, but Vivian suddenly began to feel like it would be stupid to keep talking about marriage.

Changing her tone, Jonni began to ask, "Anyway, ...Have you heard about Paulina? She's dead."

"Paulina...?" Vivian was shocked to hear it, "Wait... THAT Paulina!? She's dead?!"

Vivian only knew one Paulina. The last time they'd seen each other was probably at their class reunion a few years back.

"Yeah. I'd heard that she just got divorced, but she looked healthy. It's a complete shock."

"What happened to her? An accident?"

"I don't know... Apparently her father just found her dead in her room this morning."

"This morning? Wait, you mean..."

Vivian and Tobi both looked up at the TV as Jonni replied in her dark voice, "Yeah, ...The 'mystery death' on the news. _That_ was her. They were talking about sudden deaths from unknown causes on the news before. It looks like this keeps happening lately."

"HOLY-! T-that's freaky! Are you serious?" Tobi shrank back in her seat.

"Maybe tomorrow morning we'll be dead, too," Jonni said, as though talking to herself.

"Shut up!" Vivian laughed a bit.

"I hate the news! They're always trying to push their agenda for ratings! It must've been some kinda story the press has made up again," Tobi said, taking a hearty drink from her mug of beer. She drank it down noisily, then let out a satisfied sigh.

"At least one of us an optimist," Jonni said, and Vivian nodded deeply.

"Sure," Vivian said dismissively, taking another sip of her rum and coke. As she put down her glass, Jonni stubbed out her cigarette and stood.

"Leaving already?" Vivian asked.

"Yeah. I have to be up early tomorrow."

"Sure, you go on ahead. I kinda don't feel like coming home yet."

"Then have Kameron come join you."

"Nah, I thought I saw him this afternoon," Vivian said. If anything, she honestly just wanted to get away from him and everything to do with him, "I don't know how to act when I see him. I don't feel like discussing anything too deep."

"Fine," Jonni shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, what does he see in you?"

Grinning sarcastically, Jonni crossed into the aisle, taking Tobi with her. "Anyway, sorry. I really do have to be up early tomorrow."

"Guess I can't stop you, there. Just don't get too drunk, alright?" Vivian told Jonni.

"You do the same," Jonni nodded.

"All right. Take care, Vivi. See you later." Tobi nodded lightly. She worked at the same place as Jonni.

"See 'ya," Vivian waved them goodbye as she watched them leave, then looked back down at her own glass. Suddenly, the four-seater booth seemed uncomfortably large.

Vivian couldn't think straight, so she downed a few more glasses. How long had passed? She thought she heard someone talking to someone somewhere in the distance. They seemed to be having a talk.

One was a young man, "Wow, there's a lot of people here... But this isn't really my crowd."

The other was an elderly bartender woman, "I'm sorry, sir. Do as you wish, then."

There was a break in their conversation, and light footsteps drew closer.

"Um... It's really packed in here. Mind if I sit here?" Vivian thought she heard someone said.

* * *

 **Nightmare  
2nd Day**

 _It was so weird about what happen to Paulina! But the horror didn't end right there. Anyway, I was even more scared about what happened after my trip to the bar today. When I got home and laid down to sleep, I had a nightmare unlike any other. A really strange dream._

Vivian was being plagued with nightmares, where she's forced to climb a tower and face a different various horror every night. This was known as the World of Nightmares. These nightmares are the basis of a rumor circulating town about a curse.

When she got to the Landing, Vivian was soon puzzled, "Last night's dream... Again!? What the hell? I was at the bar, and this boy came in, and then... I can't remember! What's going on...?!"

Just then, Vivian was acquainted by an ewe, a female sheep, wearing a white dentist coat.

"...Looks like you survived," An ewe said to Vivian.

"Wh-who're you?! An ewe...?!" Vivian asked.

"Do I look like an ewe? You're like the female sheep. Everyone here's an ewe but me."

"That voice... You're the one who guided me. Who are you, and what the hell is this place!?"

"I wish I knew...," The ewe replied, "One thing's for certain, though. If we don't run... we're going to be killed."

"Did you say k-killed...!?" Vivian was widened.

"We all have the same fate here. If you don't want to die, you've gotta climb."

"So... if I climb, I'll be saved?"

"If we can reach the top, there may be a way to escape. But we've got to believe... It keeps us sane. Those who panic dies first."

"I knew that! Just quit with all the 'dying' stuff! I'll do whatever you say!"

"Okay, listen...," The ewe began to explain, "Here, you see everyone here as an ewe, a female sheep. But all these 'sheep'... They're really women. There's got to be some reason why we were all brought here..."

"What reason could there be?!" Vivian asked, "Why do we have to suffer like this?!"

"I don't know... But if we're lucky, we'll meet again!"

Vivian nodded, "Great..."

"By the way... that mystery voice told us that we can't take these memories with us when we return to the real world."

"So... I'm gonna forget this place when I wake up...?"

"If we were to try anything in reality, it'd be troublesome for this so-called 'game'. So, yeah, that's the rule. No exceptions."

As the ewe left Vivian, a bright light appeared before her...


	4. DAY 2

**Day 2**

 **2nd - Day  
** **"Vivian's Room"  
** **9:17**

Vivian's whole body was covered in night sweat. She was so tired that she couldn't imagine having possibly slept. The sheets were covered in moisture, clinging to her skin and making her horribly uncomfortable. Her heart was pounding fast.

Vivian had had a nightmare. She remembered that much, but she could only recall fragments of what had happened in it. She felt like she was struggling in a dim, cold, creepy place.

That was right. In the World of Nightmares, strong, inhuman hands had tried to grab her. She had hung on desperately. If she had slowed down even a little, Vivian would've plummet headlong downwards - she remembered the fear of it.

The terror was vibrant and intense. Vivian was in a kind of delusion where the dream world seemed to be connected to reality.

Vivian looked all around her. She saw the ceiling, the paper peeling off it. She saw a bare fluorescent light, a cabinet packed with CDs, a stereo and pamphlets, and countless memos stuck to the wall.

The morning light spilled through the blind, illuminating a plastic basket filled with dirty laundry.

 _Nothing is out of the ordinary. It's just my one-room apartment, same as always_ , Vivian thought as she was going to get out of bed, but for some reason she couldn't.

Her arms resisted. She had wrapped around something warm. Sitting up and looking over, she saw a blonde boy sleeping beside her. The blanket slipped off as Vivian moved, exposing his skin. It was amazingly smooth. He was even wearing underwear.

"No way..."

The blonde boy Vivian held onto had slender arms. He looked about twenty-something years old, and his shapely eyebrows were scrunched up.

 _Who is he...? Wait, is he that boy...?_ Vivian thought as images flashed through her head. The night before, after Jonni and Tobi had left, Vivian stayed behind and drank by herself...

* * *

I _t was approaching midnight, and few patrons remained._

 _That was when he appeared. Completely normally, he sat down in the seat opposite. Just like Vivian, it looked like he'd already had a lot to drink._

 _"...Marriage is just 'tradition', right? I mean, seriously, who wants to be tied down?" He said, resting his chin on them as he spoke. His voice had a hint of youth._

 _Vivian watched him vacantly with her drunken eyes as he continued, "As long as two people are together, it's okay. Freedom is the most important thing for people, isn't it?"_

 _"Didn't expect that..." Vivian replied, "I just mean that, you know how it is with most boys. As soon as they grow up, they just naturally start thinking about getting married. I'm kinda shocked that there are actually boys like you out there."_

 _"It's not that weird, is it? Girls aren't the only ones who should feel suffocated."_

 _Vivian was glad to hear it. It definitely wasn't the kind of thing Kameron would ever say to her._

 _"Right? You don't want to get mixed up in that kind of hassle."_

 _Glancing up, she saw that the boy who had been sitting with her had disappeared._

 _Maybe he got fed up of being in the company of a middle-aged woman and went home, she thought._

 _But then, caught the whiff of a sweet scent from right beside her. He had moved to the seat directly next to her, "Great. We agree on that."_

 _The bewitching smile he showed her caused the words to stick in her throat. He tipped back his cocktail glass, drinking it down in one go. Sound came from her white throat as it moved faintly._

 _He let out what sounded like a sigh, putting the glass back on the table. His white cheeks were flushed, his eyes were half closed._

 _Vivian swallowed._

 _Noticing her stare, he gave a soft smile. "What is it?"_

 _"Uh, nothing..." Vivian's head wasn't working properly. She couldn't think things through calmly. His smile deepened, and he rested his elbows on the table._

 _Leaning on them, he began to move closer to Vivian, but his elbow slipped. Losing his balance, he collapsed on top of Vivian._

 _Reflexively, Vivian wrapped her arms around him. She felt his perfect weight, and the warmth and softness of his skin. "A-are you okay?" Vivian's voice was high-pitched._

 _"Yeah. Thanks," he said, giggling again in her arms._

 _"No, I, uh... sorry."_

 _Flustered, Vivian tried to push him off, but he put his hand against her, gripping and covering it. "Oh, um... I have work tomorrow. So, I gotta get home."_

He's so hot _, Vivian thought. But she had a boyfriend, and things would get really messy if things carried on this way._

 _"I had fun today." Vivian said as she tried to stand, but he wouldn't let her. He strengthened his grip on her hand, entwining his fingers with her._

 _"What're you looking at? You like what you see...?"_

 _She gazed up at him, "I-I'm not staring."_

 _"You're just saying that..."_

 _...Yes, she could even remember that. But she couldn't recall what came next._

 _Had she been drunk even more? Maybe she'd gotten carried away and got herself drunk. Maybe that was why she'd passed out._

* * *

The images were so vivid. Vivian couldn't just see it; she could feel, smell, and even taste it...

It played back so realistically, telling her of the previous night's events.

"Oh crap, this is bad..." Vivian sighed. It would've been fine if she were single, but now she had Kameron McBride. If her memories of the previous night - that was the only way to put it - were real, she would clearly have been cheating.

"Huh?" The boy beside her yawned, half-opening his eyes. "What is?"

Vivian obviously couldn't tell him that her cheating with him was wrong. She couldn't remember telling him that she had a boyfriend last night. If she had, this surely would never have happened.

Vivian desperately tried to think up a good excuse, "For a guy and a girl who just met to, um..."

"A coincidence?"

"No... Huh!? S-sorry." Vivian hurriedly averted his gaze.

"For your information..." He began to spoke. That alone caused goosebumps to spring up across Vivian whole body. "I came here because I liked you. It's not like I'd do this with just any girl."

The whole thing was unbelievable: there was an incredibly hot man, probably more than a decade younger than her, telling Vivian that he "liked" her.

Vivian began to say, "I can't... My head's spinning, I just can't think."

"Hmm..." He heard her chuckle from above. "Maybe it's love at first sight?" His eyes flew open at the unexpected words. Then, suddenly, he stood.

"What's wrong? ...S-sorry!" Vivian said in apology, without knowing what she was apologizing for.

He almost leapt from the bed, gathering up his clothes that lay scattered across the floor as he asked, "You said you have work today, right?"

"Work? Y-yeah, I guess so..."

It was a weekday, so naturally he had work - but what was it to him?

In a moment he slipped on his coat, smoothing out his clothes, "Sorry, got to go! Have to go to the dentist!"

"The dentist?"

"The dentist will be mad if I'm late, right? I did want to stay with you a bit longer, though." He laughed embarrassingly. "Rude of me after intruding on you like that, I know. Bye now!"

"Wait a sec. I have a boy..."

Vivian thought about being honest with him. She could see Kameron flying into a blind fear or rage if he found out, and she wanted to tell that hot blonde guy straight away rather than continue lying and disappoint him later.

"Aw damn..." When she had a good think about it, Vivian realized that she hadn't even asked his name.

 _Holy shit! My life is a romance story and a horror movie! It's so scary! I'm so pissed_ , Vivian thought.

* * *

 **"Kappa Heaven"  
** **12:30**

 _NOW do you see why I was so scare-arr-red? I was suffering from a fear of cheating with someone who is NOT my Kameron. So, I thought Kappa Heaven would help making me feel better. Not totally, but, you know, it's getting there._

That night, Vivian went out as usual. This time, with her colleague, Orlanda Haddick.

Orlanda was a childhood friend of Vivian and Jonni's. They had all known each other for more than twenty years. The Kappa Heaven was the same as it always was at the Stray Sheep bar. It was warm, filled with a fair amount of chatter, and comfortable.

"Well, well. You know, it just hit me," Orlanda, sitting next to Vivian, took a large gulp from her beer and let out a burp. She was an easygoing and excitable woman, contrasting with the perpetually calm Jonni. "You know how they say every girl has three hot streaks with the men in her life? This is your third."

"Was I ever THAT popular...?" Vivian asked as she thought about back in high school, but then her eyes were widened, "Wait a minute, hot streaks? When the hell were the other two?"

"When we were kids, you were like the most popular with boys," Orlanda replied to Vivian, pointing it out.

"I don't recall that," Vivian pondered.

"The second time you were in the zone was at our class reunion five years back," Orlanda said, wiping away the froth from around her mouth. "That was what led to you started dating Kameron, remember?"

"Now you mention it... If he finds out, he'll probably kill me."

"It's not like he has to find out, though, is it? Just act like it never happened," Orlanda said lightheartedly, and Vivian shot her with a glare.

"I can't just ignore it. I can't be all carefree about this whole thing as you are," Vivian said to Orlanda.

"You don't want to be nagged into getting married, right? Two people staying together forever is just total B.S... Marriage will dig your grave. I'm proof of that."

Orlanda had been divorced in the past. It was apparently due to her husband having an affair, but she wouldn't talk too much about it, though they didn't appear to have had any children.

Vivian tried considering options. The prospect of breaking up with her current boyfriend and getting with the blonde boy from the night before was tempting, there was no denying that.

If she did, she wouldn't live each day of her life being scolded. Vivian wouldn't have to feel like she was being told all the time. But what about her as a person?

If she had a relationship with another man, despite having a boyfriend and just stayed on the fence, she would be considered a cheater...

"It's a tough spot, huh?" Vivian let out a sigh. Her sighs had definitely increased in number over the past two days, "Maybe the whole reason I'm thinking this way is because I'm tied down by Kameron..."

Perhaps if she had broken up with her boyfriend before meeting him, there wouldn't have been an issue - but she had already met him.

Vivian couldn't change the past. Now all she had left with was guilt towards Kameron.

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **20:06**

"What was the boy like?" Jonni asked, tipping back her sake bottle.

Orlanda also leaned forward, "Yeah, make sure you introduce me to him. I bet he's super sexy hot. Got a photo or something?"

"No, and he's not your type anyway," Vivian answered.

"You know, I got to say...," Tobi said, munching on some peanuts on the platter. "Because of you guys, I never get a chance to date anyone."

Orlanda and Jonni exchanged glances and shrugged as Tobi continued, "I want a hot man who's mature, stern, and has a nice pair of sneakers..."

"Whoa, whoa there," Jonni halted Tobi, "Don't be like that creepy girl in horror movies who tries too hard to be noticed."

Vivian nodded in agreement with Jonni as Tobi cried, "WHAT?! Shut up, I'm so not like that! What's wrong with having some adult fun with someone older than me?"

"You're totally screwed, aren't you?" Orlanda asked Tobi.

"Who's getting screwed?" A voice appeared, "And did I hear someone call for me?"

"Oh...! Hey, Eric...!" Tobi was smitten as her cheeks were blushing when she sees Eric the waiter.

Eric, the waiter, came to a stop beside their table. He held an empty tray in one hand. It looked like he'd just taken someone their drink.

Eric and Vivian were from the same area and had known each other for more than twenty years. It was actually because he worked there that the bar had become their gathering place.

"I've got a nice pair of Air Jordan sneakers I know how to use," Eric said to Tobi, seductively.

"Whoa, Eric...," Vivian and Jonni cried in unison.

"Anyway, have you girls heard about the 'Man's Wrath'?" Eric asked in a normal voice, "They say it targets cheating women and kills them. Or not."

"Which is it...?" Orlanda replied suspiciously.

"W-Wait, what?" The words "kills cheating women" sent a shiver down Vivian's spine. "What exactly is this 'Man's Wrath'?"

"Please, what does that got to do with you? I mean, you only care about your man," Eric replied.

"Oh, what are you talking about? She totally needs to know," Orlanda said to Eric.

"Cheating is pathetic," Tobi replied.

"I agreed with Tobi. Pathetic," Jonni nodded.

"Yeah, ha-ha, total pathetic," Vivian chuckled as she, Orlanda, Tobi and Jonni were all laughed in unison, then stopped.

Noticing this, Erica blinked repeatedly. "Wait, what? Have you been cheating?" He put both hands on the table, leaning towards the girls. "You're kidding! Weren't you talking about marriage?"

"Be quiet!" Vivian said in a panic, looking around the bar. "Seriously, stop yelling about cheating and shit! I think someone didn't quite hear you!"

"That's low, girl." Eric looked down at Vivian with a gaze, "Lowest of the low..."

"Don't call me that! Now you know, just leave me alone."

"Well? Come on, tell me about this guy!" Eric was waited for answers.

"Apparently, he's destiny-level hot," Orlanda added with a grin.

"Are you kidding?" Tobi cried, "Finding your soulmate is so romantic and awesome! I'm so totally jelly! That means jealous."

What Vivian said was true, but she didn't know what would happen if Kameron heard that she was saying that she'd met the boy of her dreams. "You girls better not mention this to anyone outside the bar! I am serious!"

"Yeah, sure."

Vivian sighed, sinking deeply into her seat. "Anyway... that's seriously freaky. The curse, the falling dream..."

"Why?" Orlanda asked.

"I had one of those just last night. Maybe it was this morning? Either way, it was spooky as hell."

Vivian couldn't remember the exact details but seemed to recall the sensation of falling - or perhaps it was the feeling of being afraid of falling. So, naturally, when she heard about dying from falling in the dreams, she was concerned.

"You're overthinking things." Jonni grinned sarcastically. "Look at you, freaked out by a dream."

"Oh yeah, have you heard?" Eric said, jerking his chin in the direction of the counter, where the elderly owner stood behind it, silently polishing glasses. "It seemed that Boss was bit of a player or a gold digger back in the day and broke more than her share of hearts. You see how she's wearing those tacky sunglasses indoors? They say she's using those to hide her face."

"You're in a tough spot too, right? How about you try wearing some sunglasses?" Orlanda laughed, poking Vivian in the side.

"I don't need any! It was an accident. It's over now."

"I hope so..." Jonni muttered to herself.

For some reason, the words stayed in her head.


	5. DAY 3

**Day 3**

 **3rd - Day  
** **"Vivian's Room"  
** **8:12**

It was just like the morning before. Vivian had another bad dream. That was all she could remember.

In her dream, Vivian had been chased by a huge monster. The monster was a man. Vivian, fleeing despite her fear of falling, made it through a door (or something like one), and returned to the real world.

That was everything Vivian remembered. Just fragmented memories tickling the back of her mind. She was panting, more exhausted than yesterday. Opening her eyes, she made sure that she was alive.

Above her head was a clean ceiling. Letting out the breath that had accumulated in her lungs, she closed her eyes once more.

Suddenly, Vivian felt a presence. Someone was lying beside her. Their arms touched lightly.

"Kameron...?"

In an instant, she felt faint. It was like the nightmare was still going on.

"Hmm..." It was the boy from yesterday. The young, wild, blonde one... the one she shouldn't be getting involved with.

 _WHAT THE FUCK? HIM AGAIN!? Why is he here?_ Vivian thought, _I thought I came home alone._

Why was he here, indeed? He turned his face towards Vivian as his eyes opened, "What did you say...?"

"Sorry. I, uh..."

"It's okay. I'm kind of embarrassed, though..." he said with an amused smile, narrowing his eyes, "That's the first time you've called me by my name."

"Your name? Wait, your name's... Cameron"

Could it possibly be a coincidence? Could the man she was cheating with really just happen to have the same name as her boyfriend?

"What's up, Vivian?" Cameron asked sweetly.

"Oh, u-uh, it's nothing..." Vivian swallowed. Her sweat felt cold. But suddenly the blood rushed to her head, making her face scarily hot as she thought once again, _Are you fucking kidding me?_

"Hey, are you...upset about something?" He - Cameron - propped himself up off the bed.

"You can't just intrude on me like that." Vivian replied.

"Huh? Well, sorry to come here out of the blue."

The night before, she had drunk until late with Orlanda and Jonni. After that, she was supposed to have come home alone.

Her head swam with thoughts of marriage and cheating and, not feeling ready to sleep, she remembered having drained several cups of whine in bed.

Vivian thought she had just gone to sleep after that, but it looked like he'd turned up after she passed out.

* * *

 **"Chrono Rabbit"  
** **12:38**

A while later, after Cameron left, Vivian was summoned by a text message, saying that they would meet that afternoon at the café.

Kameron rarely asked her out on weekdays. She felt as though he knew what had really been going on this morning, last night and the night before - about Cameron. About their relationship.

Their seats, by coincidence, were the same ones as they had sat in two days ago.

Vivian was wearing some cheap-looking sunglasses she had found in a souvenir shop she passed by on the way, having remembered the story she heard from Eric about the owner of the bar.

It sounded stupid and crazy, but she never knew when and where she was going to see Cameron. She couldn't let him see her with her boyfriend.

Lunch was being served at the café, and a constant stream of customers entered and left the whole time.

"So, I heard you got some shades," Vivian could hear Kameron's voice being normal.

Before Vivian could react, her sunglasses were snatched away by Kameron.

"You really think these might suit you?" Kameron asked.

"Sure," Vivian nodded.

Kameron bring Vivian back her sunglasses, "Anyway, Vivi... There's something I want to tell you about."

"What is it...?" Vivian asked.

But today, no reprimand was shot her way. He drank down his cappuccino in one go, then said thoughtfully, "I've been pretty late this month."

"What do you mean?" Vivian's voice was unintentionally hysterical.

Kameron paused momentarily before continuing, "I had a little thought that... I think you might be pregnant."

Vivian felt like she'd been fainting for hours. She might be pregnant. Vivian might be having a baby.

Had she first thought during the last two days? No, surely not.

Kameron did say that he had been "quite late". That meant it had been on his mind for some time already. Maybe when he brought up marriage the other day, Vivian had actually been intending to think about the pregnancy.

"Too soon?" Kameron's question was vague, but its meaning was crystal clear. Vivian was going to ask if she should keep it; if Kameron was going to take responsibility for it.

It had happened because of her, so he was, of course, supposed to say, "After all, I'll take care of you for the rest of my life."

But why now? Why only now that he had come into the picture...?

"Uh, well..." Vivian could stop thinking about Cameron. If she got married, there might be a way she would never see him again or live freely like he did.

"Too soon?" Kameron asked, worried.

Vivian curled up even more tightly, "Of course I'm happy...Right, I'm happy."

Kameron smiled with relief, leaning back in his seat, "That's good to hear."

"Yeah... O-of course!" Her voice was high-pitched, but he didn't seem to notice. "To be honest, I was kind of worried. Sometimes I just don't know what you're thinking."

"D-don't say that! I'm just shocked as you, that's all." Kameron replied, nervously. What was going to happen now? Even Kameron here couldn't even begin to imagine.

Black clouds swirled around inside her head. It was hard to breathe, like there wasn't enough air inside the café.

"B-but you don't know it yet, right?" Vivian said with a gasp, as though desperately struggling for air. "Nothing's... decided, right?"

"Hmm... I guess not," Kameron flipped back his short grey-brown hair.

Suddenly, Vivian's phone began to ring. She jumped, banging her knee on the table. The ringing sound was coming from Vivian's jacket pocket. She hurriedly took it out, looking down at the LCD screen.

The number was unfamiliar to her. Maybe it was an order from work.

"It's okay, you can answer it," Kameron was being tactful. Maybe he was feeling better after being satisfied by Vivian's response before.

"Okay," Having obtained permission from her beloved, Vivian pressed the 'call' button and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Oh, hello. It's me." The voice was bright, strong and flamboyant. Vivian almost dropped the phone, and her heart nearly stopped.

That voice. Vivian could never forget it.

It was the voice of Cameron, who she had only just parted from that morning.

In a fluster, Vivian turned towards the aisle, covering her mouth with her hand and speaking in a high voice, "Ohhhh, hello! Thank you for calling."

 _How did he get my number...? And why in the fuck did he have to call right now?_ Vivian thought about asking him, before remembering that her boyfriend was sitting opposite.

Vivian heard Cameron's laughter on the other end, "I'm just in the area. Want to meet up?"

"Yeah, that's going to be a little difficult."

Vivian reflexively pushed the power button and put the phone back in her pocket. She panted as though she had just sprinted with all her energy. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"So, what was that about!?" Kameron asked in a positive normal voice.

Vivian's breath caught with fear. Had he caught a snippet of Cameron's voice? Had he heard it all? If so, she was in deep trouble. "Nothing, it was just a work call..."

"Okay, but I kinda meant your phone."

"This? Oh, yeah..." Vivian took the phone out of her pocket. "The one I've been wanting finally came out last week..."

Apparently, he hadn't heard Cameron's voice. Of course, he hadn't. If anything, it would be a surprise if he could hear the voice of whoever she was talking to inside the noisy café.

"It hasn't been that long since you switched last time, has it?"

"I guess it's okay as long as you're working hard, you know."

Vivian's phone rang again inside her jacket. Taking it out, she saw that the call was coming from the same number as before.

It was Cameron calling. She really did NOT want to answer. She did not want to talk to him.

Vivian wordlessly switched the phone to silent mode, tossing it into her pocket. It continued to vibrate for a while, but finally went quiet.

Despite it being obvious, something she'd caused herself, she felt somehow abandoned. Kameron went on talking to her, "Anyway, I do want to go back to work after the baby's born."

"We'll have to split up the housework," Vivian replied with a smile, "We can't just go tossing our clothes all over the place anymore. Well, we do. For our little lovin' time."

Kameron laughed. While the two conversant, the café seemed to be even more packed than before. All of the seats were filled.

"...So, I think we'd better be careful about saving money. I know you'll stop drinking at your favorite place at night, but it is your favorite place, right? I mean, it ain't cheap. But don't worry, I'll manage the bank account myself before you even know it," Kameron said, reassuring Vivian.

Vivian sighed. She was glad that Kameron would make a very efficient husband.

 _Whether I'm with him or not, we'll be together_ ; isn't it more important for him just to be able to say he has a wife? Vivian thought anew.

Vivian was just a symbol of his status - a real person. Seeing this vision of the future made her realize that it wasn't only the future when this would happen, but she didn't care, as long as she's more excited or depressed.

Vivian put in her own two sugars, sipping the cold coffee, when a voice appeared, "Great, I made it in time for lunch!"

Vivian spat out her coffee. Liquid splashed over the edge of the cup. It was his voice she had just heard for sure. The voice she had only just heard on the phone.

"Hmmmm... I'll have a blood orange granita!"

Coffee entered her windpipe, causing her to cough more. She set the cup back on the table.

Taking out a crumpled handkerchief, she roughly mopped her clothes and face.

Vivian glanced at the entrance on the verge of tears but couldn't see his characteristic blonde hair. She didn't think he was mistaken, though.

"Are you alright?" Kameron asked, worried. "Is something wrong?"

"I-I'm fine!" Vivian hurriedly wiped up the coffee spilled on the table. Even as her hands moved, he avoided her gaze. Where was he? Was he really here?

"You've freaked out for a minute there," Kameron replied.

"Oh, sorry about that," Vivian said, "By the way, we're going to have to quit smoking, right? It's not good for the baby."

At least that was the last thing on her mind right now.

This was terrible. Cameron could turn up in the neighboring seat at any time. If he saw her, Vivian will be screwed.

"I'm going to work! I'll pay, you just go on ahead and leave!"

"Wait a minute...!" Kameron tried to stop her, but Vivian slipped around him, but there were no young blonde men among them.

Actually, she didn't know for sure, but at least Vivian couldn't spot him. "Sorry, I'm gonna be late!"

"Okay... I'll ask my parents when they're free!" Kameron called after her.

Kameron was telling her to meet his parents. If he did, it would be impossible to say no to marrying her.

Kameron thought this was for the best. He honestly believed he was making the right choice for Vivian.

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **20:27**

Orlanda took a gulp from her bottle of beer, nodding with an approving look on her face, "Isn't this great for you? Now you can break it off for good."

"I guess." Vivian replied as she brought the sushi to her mouth. She usually loved salmon, but today she could hardly taste it.

Orlanda didn't appear to be very hungry either. She had been doing nothing but drink for a while.

"I just can't believe he didn't catch you," Orlanda said.

"Yeah, I know." Vivian lowered her head, aimlessly stirring soy sauce around on the plate with her chopsticks.

"No way! Are you really pregnant?" Tobi asked with astonishment.

"If you are, your life is flipped or fucked with a capital 'F'." Orlanda giggled.

"It's not flipped or fucked yet," Vivian replied, with a glare. "I mean, nothing's set to stone!"

"So then, what did you tell Kameron?" Jonni asked.

"Ohhh, who's the mother? You are!" Tobi exclaimed happily, pointing at Vivian.

"Don't be stupid. He told me he was happy, and I'm happy," Vivian said.

"That doesn't look like the face of a happy woman to me," Jonni replied.

Vivian should have denied it, but she couldn't, "It's just... It's all getting too much for me..." She could imagine herself taking responsibility for a home and a child.

"So, you're finally tying the knot," Orlanda said, "Congrats, Mama. Get ready to kiss your husband's ass for the rest of your natural life. No going out late, smoking, gambling, liquor, you named it. Even no relaxing on weekends, because you got to take care of the kids."

"Really...?" Tobi groaned, "Aww, that sounds really tiring..."

Then, Eric arrived to meet up with the girls, "Hey, girls, quit filling Vivian's head with doom and gloom."

Tobi was smitten again, "Eric!"

Eric turned to Vivian and said, "Come on, cheer up. Raising a nice, happy family is supposed to be a good thing."

"A happy family...," Vivian said, lowering her head as she thought about her parents. "I... never had one before."

"So, uh, what's this weird dream you said you had?" Jonni asked. "We'll listen."

"Weird dream?" Eric asked.

"Why are you asking now?" Vivian asked. "I thought I remember anything, but I can't."

"It just came to me...," Jonni answered.

"Well, I was being chased by something...," Vivian began to explain. "I-I don't know, it was scary."

"Sounds common to me," Orlanda said.

"Yeah, and you feel like you didn't get any sleep at all that night, right?" Eric replied.

"Yeah, right," Drinking down her green tea, Vivian stood from her stool.

Orlanda looked up at her, "Heading home already?"

"Yeah," Vivian nodded as she leaves.

Then, as Vivian walked home, she then thought out loud, "I'm going to call him... the Cameron they don't know... to the bar we always go to. I want to talk to him about officially going our separate ways. I say, 'break up', but I don't know if we were ever dating to begin with. I'll at least tell him that we're not seeing each other again."

Little did she know that her friends overheard her. They had no idea what Vivian was talking about.

"I guess it's not something you just can avoid." Orlanda shrugged.

"I'm leaving, too. I don't seem to have much of an appetite lately," Tobi said. They called over an employee and paid the bill.


	6. DAY 4

**Day 4**

 **4th - Day  
** **"Vivian's Room"  
** **10:21**

Vivian had yet another nightmare. This was the fourth day in a row.

She couldn't even remember for sure anymore; nor could she clearly remember what happened in them. All she remembered was the feeling of being chased by monsters, desperately climbing something cliff-like, and parts of the cliff collapsing and falling. She felt as though the night before she'd heard the repulsive voice of a baby. It didn't just cry - it was a voice filled with brutality and cruelty, like a cross between human and beast.

It looked like her own pregnancy was taking its toll on her. It had left a strong mark on her, giving her nightmares. As always, she woke up sweating and exhausted. Vivian didn't think she would ever get used to the feeling.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" a voice beside her suddenly said sweetly. It was Cameron's voice.

Flustered, Vivian twisted her head around. He seemed to have woken up first today. Wrapped in a blanket, he looked at Vivian, wide awake.

"What are you...!?" As she spoke, a sharp pain, like he had been hit with something hard and metallic, ran through her head.

It was a pain characteristic of a hangover. Frowning, Vivian held her head in her hands as she thought, _Why can't I remember the time I spend with you...? It's like the important parts are missing..._

Vivian had been drinking with Orlanda, Jonni and Tobi. They had talked about the possibility that she might be pregnant. What happened after that? She couldn't remember. Thinking about it normally, though, she should have gone straight home...

Vivian stared at Cameron, sitting beside her. He was wearing impractical men's underwear that seemed to exist solely to tempt women.

It was possible that he had forced his way in. That was what he'd done the day before last. Maybe he was just claiming that she'd called him. But even if he had, Vivian had no proof to refute those claims.

"What's wrong? You're acting kinda weird." He swiftly brought his face closer to Vivian's, peering into her eyes. Their noses touched. His sweet-smelling breath touched her face again.

Vivian jerked her head backwards, "Why can't I remember the time I spend with you? It's kind of like the crucial bits are missing..."

"I remember them really well, though." Cameron laughed suggestively.

With such a seductive boy put in front of her, how was she meant to just leave him alone? But why couldn't she remember it? She felt like she was missing out on something big.

All of the boys I get close to are like this, Vivian thought. Not that he was unhappy about it; nor was this kind of physical torment issue.

If anything, if it was teasing with a clear intent with mutual understanding, she was perfectly happy with it. How much did Cameron know? How much had he guessed?

As Vivian considered this in fear, the sound of the doorbell rang throughout the apartment, dragging her with a start back to reality.

"That might be a delivery... Maybe I bought something by mail order," Vivian heard the faint scraping of metal on metal, followed by the heavy sound of the doorknob turning.

Someone was trying to get into her room - and as far as Vivian knew, there was only one person besides her with a key.

Vivian pushed Cameron off of her chest, jumping up and running at full speed over to the door.

"Wait!" Cameron protested from behind, but Vivian didn't have time to pay attention. She scrambled to the front door, reaching for the doorknob.

Just before she made contact the knob turned away, the door slamming open and the resulting bang making the room shake. The door had only opened about twenty centimeters, then stopped. The chain connecting the door to the door frame was pulled tight.

"What's going on? Why is this door locked?" Kameron's worried face peeked through the gap. He was wearing the same head-to-toe suit as always.

Normally, if this were a week ago, Vivian would have been happy, but things were totally different now.

"W-wait a moment!" Vivian called as she closed the door and rested her forehead against it. Her entire body dripped with unpleasant sweat.

Vivian felt the way she did when she awoke from a nightmare. What should she do? How could she get out of this situation? There was no way she could open the door and let Kameron in. He would run into Cameron, and all that awaited him afterwards was a nightmare full of even more craziness.

"Who is it?" came a youthful voice from inside, followed by approaching footsteps. Cameron seemed to have got out of bed.

Panicking, Vincent took his forehead off of the door, "M-my landlord stopped by and was trying to get in," she rambled, heading briefly back inside the room.

Cameron, in his underwear, stared at her, "Your landlord?"

"I just f-forgot to pay my rent. Managing money is hard, you know?"

"Oh. Bo-ring..." Cameron said, uninterested. "I'm gonna use the bathroom, 'kay?"

Cameron vanished into the bathroom. Vivian heard the door closing.

This was it; she had to do it now. She had to use this chance to get rid of Kameron. Sucking in a breath, Vivian steeled herself and unhooked the chain from the door.

Apparently hearing the sound, Kameron pulled the door open himself, trying to push his way inside, "What the hell, Vivi? What is this!?"

"S-shh! Will you keep it down?! One of my bosses is over here!"

"What, really?" A little of the anger faded from Kameron's eyes.

"So, today's not really a good time..."

"Maybe I should say hello?"

"No! No, it's okay, you don't have to do that. She's sleeping in the back right now. Gets in a really foul mood if you wake her up."

Vivian heard a flush from the bathroom behind her. Vivian wanted to bang her head against the wall and wanted to lose consciousness right then and there.

Kameron raised his eyebrows, peering over Vivian's shoulder, "I thought you said she was sleeping?"

This time, Vivian heard the sound of hands being washed. Cameron could come out in his underwear at any time. She had to avoid that, at all costs.

"Q-quickly! Outside!" Vivian put her arms around Kameron's shoulders, making him turn to the right, and they went out into the hallway together, her closing the door with her other hand.

"You can't come in!" she said loudly. She didn't even understand herself, but right now she had no choice but to push through it. "I can't let her see you!"

"Why not? Embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"Don't be silly." Vivian giggled.

Kameron said, "You don't have to do that. I only stopped by because it looked like you were really busy at work."

"It's fine," This time, Vivian's words were strong. "I'll see you later. Don't know how that makes me feel. Seriously."

* * *

 **"Lavatory at Work"  
** **12:36**

During break, Vivian sighed, "Meeting the parents... Am I really gonna sit here and let it all happen?"

She looked at her phone but was wide-eyed by a sexy pic of Cameron.

But Vivian shook her head, "NO! I've made up my mind, I can't let him tempt me... This can't go on any longer. I got to tell him to stop."

As Vivian was lost in thought, a spooky imitating voice appear, " _Oooooohhhhhh_! Look out, It's the Bathroom _Ghooooooost_!"

Vivian knew that voice anywhere, "Not funny, Orlanda!"

Orlanda came in as well, "Did you see the movie where that girl was, you know-"

Vivian halted her, "Shut up already. Let's just hurry up and go."

"You're the boss..." Orlanda giggled.

* * *

 **"Kappa Heaven"  
** **12:51**

"So...," Orlanda began to ask. "You still doing the Two-Timing Tango?"

"Don't say it like that! It wasn't on purpose!" Vivian yelled.

"Well, if you ARE pregnant, Kameron's gotta bite the bullet," Orlanda said.

"Yeah! You're only saying that 'cause it's not you..."

Orlanda tried to cheer her up as she said, "Look, variety's the spice of life. You need to enjoy it more! Like the wasabi-coated sushi they serve here, you know what I'm saying?"

Vivian smiled a bit, "You so suck at metaphors."

"I'm saying is, you've got opinions ahead of you," Orlanda replied. "Maybe Kameron would be happier as a single dad than he would be with you."

Vivian snapped at Orlanda, "What are you, drunk? No, he wouldn't want that!"

"Well, what exactly do _you_ want here?"

Vivian sighed, "My mind and heart don't exactly agree on that..."

"Then you've got to be even more careful," Orlanda advised her friend. "If you're caught, you can't call it an 'accident' anymore."

"I know," Vivian groaned.

"Anyway," Orlanda said, giving her some maguro. "Here. It's supposed to be good for your circulation. You're pale as a ghost. You going to the bar, tonight?"

"Maybe. You?"

"Nah, I have to pass today... Got overtime. But I guess all you can do is drink and forget, huh."

After a little stay at Stray Sheep, Vivian went back home to rest...


	7. DAY 5

**Day 5**

 **5th - Day  
** **"Vivian's Room"  
** **5:30**

Vivian didn't turn around and didn't want to think about anything. She had yet another nightmare.

As she woke up, the phone began vibrating. She took out the phone timidly, bringing the screen up to his face, and an unfamiliar number was displayed upon it once more.

Was it a call from a client this time?

Vivian sucked in a breath, then slowly exhaled. Prepared to hang up at any time, she cautiously pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear, "Hello?"

"Is this Vivian?" said a forceful female voice she had never heard before.

As Vivian sat in the cubicle in turmoil, the woman had had a long, one-sided conversation.

"You know Cameron, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know him, but who is this?"

"My name's Stella. Cameron's girlfriend."

"What?" Vivian couldn't believe her ears. "A-are you seriously!?"

"Dammit...!"

Before she could say anything else, Vivian ended the call as she thought, _HOLY CRAP...! HIS GIRLFRIEND!? Was Cameron playing me? I thought it was so weird to rush things... Oh god, this keeps getting worse. But wait, how the hell did she get my number? Am I really the one gettin' played here?_

The hand clutching the phone trembled. How, why, and when did the woman know her number? Cameron must have told her. That meant that he was nothing more than bait that had been stringing Vivian along from the start.

Not just that, but the voice of the woman on the phone clearly conveyed anger and hatred. She seemed more like a woman in a frenzy at having her boyfriend stolen from her than a girl who would use her boyfriend to extort money from women.

So, did that mean that Cameron was simply two-timing her? That, despite being with Stella, Vivian had caught the eye and they had gotten together a couple of times...?

The phone vibrated again. Vivian was hesitant but gave in to her curiosity and slid her thumb to the call button.

Guessing from the tone and sound of the woman's voice, she was quite a bit older even than Vivian. "Don't think you can play me like that. You're the one in trouble here."

"S-sorry!" Vivian felt pitiful, but the woman's voice had a forceful intensity to it.

"You're probably just using him, huh?"

"No, it's not..."

"So, you two are serious?"

"Well no, I..." Vivian was stuck for a reply.

"So, you ARE just using him?" the woman swore on the other side of the phone.

Vivian gave up on trying to say that she hadn't done anything of the sort. It would just make things more complicated. She took a breath and closed her eyes, "I'll break up with him. I was planning to do it in the first place..."

"Really?" the woman - Stella - said, like a spoiled child, through the phone.

"Really. I never meant for things to end up like this, uh..." Vivian had never deserved him to begin with. Not a young, seductive, sweet, lively boy like him.

"Whatever. If you try to see him again, I'll end you."

 _Ugh, what the hell does everyone wants with me...?_ Vivian thought. _It's him! Ever since Cameron showed up, everything's got crazy!_

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **18:34**

Vivian sat opposite with Cameron in a booth. Maybe because it was still so early, there weren't many people in the bar.

An unfamiliar tune played from the jukebox. Even Eric wasn't around today. Vivian had made sure to choose a day when he wouldn't be working. There was a good chance that today's exchange would end in trouble. There was no need for a childhood friend to have to see that.

Vivian began by telling Cameron about the phone call from Stella. But when he heard what Vivian had to say, he shook his head.

"I don't know any Stella. Never even heard of her."

It was completely unexpected. The flow Vivian had imagined crumbled in the blink of an eye, "Seriously!?"

She was getting flustered. The aging owner brought over their drinks. As always, she couldn't see the eyes behind her sunglasses.

Dazed, Vivian stared down at the bubbles popping in her rum and coke, "I... can't even try to explain. I don't know myself. I just got this call from your girlfriend out of the blue..."

"Wait, wait!?" Cameron said shrilly. "You mean...she said she was my girlfriend!?"

"Yeah. Exactly what I told you," Vivian said, overpowered. "She called me up... She told me she was dating you..."

"Really?" Cameron rested his chin on his hands, looking concerned. "Well, it's obvious that someone's got the wrong person."

"Th-then who? Who is she dating?"

"How should I know!?" Cameron said, displeased, and letting out a breath, "How do you know it's not someone you know with the same name?"

Hearing him say this, she considered it for the first time. She did know more than one.

There was Cameron, whom she was talking to now, and Kameron, her longtime boyfriend.

Cameron picked up his glass again, peering at her over the rim. "What's wrong?"

For now, Vivian would just play along. As long as there was the possibility of her dating Cameron, there was no need to let him know that she had a boyfriend.

"Nothing at all. I've had a thought, and I don't know any other girls with that name," Vivian replied, striving to make it sound as natural as possible.

"Really? That's odd."

"M-maybe you have a secret fan? Maybe you've forgotten all about it, but there's a girl who's in love with you and has managed to delude herself into thinking that you're her boyfriend." Even she didn't believe it for a second, but once she'd started, Vivian had no choice but to continue. "You're, you know, awful cute and all."

"What?" Cameron looked right back at her, turning his whole face red.

Vivian had called him "cute" with such enthusiasm, but it wasn't the kind of thing she was meant to say straight to his face.

At least, it wasn't something Vivian had ever said to a man before. Cameron's cheeks flushed too.

"A-anyway..." Vivian's voice was raised, concealing her inner turmoil. "Stella might be an alias, anyway. There are loads of weirdos in this world. You should be careful."

"You're right..." His voice was both embarrassed-sounding and provocative. "It's okay, right?"

As tempted as she was, Vivian had come here today meaning to break up with him. They couldn't spend the night together again.

Vivian should at least stay away from him until after she spoke to Kameron to ascertain the nature of his relationship with Stella.

"I don't think tonight is such a great idea."

"Nope. I've already decided I'm coming over."

"Sorry, but tonight's just really... I, uh, have diarrhea."

 _I get diarrhea way too often_ , she thought with a wince.

"Aww. Okay then," Cameron said, drinking down the last of the alcohol in his glass. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do if you're not feeling well. Shall we leave it here?"

"Yeah, that's probably for the best."

"Alright. Feel better soon." Cameron stood, looking sullen again, and made his way towards the exit. As he passed by the counter, the owner bowed her head in a light nod.

Vivian waited until she could no longer see him before finally reaching out for her forgotten rum and coke.

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **20:11**

"You're saying he might be cheating?" Jonni snorted. "There's no way Kameron would do that."

The usual group sat around the table: Vivian Jonni, Orlanda and Tobi. Eric, the waiter, had also stopped by, joining in their conversation.

"Honestly, man, I wouldn't be surprised," Orlanda said, waving her beer bottle around. "He's away at work every day, and he is hot. The girls will go after him. Not to mention that his girlfriend's a cheating bitch.

"Don't say it like I've been cheating since day one," Vivian grumbled.

"Ugh, don't you get it?" Eric pointed out without delay. "It's not about length. Geez."

"Okay, I don't get it at all...," Vivian said, "But... why'd it turned out this way...?"

"Sounds like you're in pretty deep pain." Tobi frowned.

"Don't be so down. You don't know anything for sure yet, right?"

"I guess. I'll ask him just in case, though..." Vivian muttered in reply, prostrating herself on the table. After that, she didn't look up again.

Jonni exchanged glances with her friends. They all shrugged their shoulders as if to say, "There's nothing we can do."

No one could find the right words.

"So, now what?" Orlanda asked.

"What else can I do?" Vivian replied. "I'm in shock here."

"In shock, my ass," Eric scoffed. "Even if it's true, you're not innocent either."

"Good grief...," Jonni put her cup back on the table. "It's getting pretty loud these days."

"Hey, it might not just be a rumor." Eric wrapped his arms around himself. "It's like, you know, the dream where you're falling, and you'll die if you hit the ground before you wake up. Lately, a lot of people have been talking about having weird dreams..."

"Oh, come on. That's just stupid." Jonni's interruption was surprisingly forceful. "How's anyone supposed to know what dream the dying person had? They're dead. D-E-A-D, dead."

"I guess..."

"They're just dreams. Get real," Jonni said, looking around for approval from her friends. "Right, Vivi?"

"Maybe she's already dead?" Tobi said jokingly. "Vivi! Vivi, wake up or you'll die!"

"...I'm not dead yet," Vivian replied sulkily.

Jonni stared down at her. She wanted to tell her to cheer up. She wanted to tell her that it was all okay, that Kameron wasn't cheating on her. Jonni was sure of it.

It's true that Vivian had said that she had been having really scary dreams a lot lately, but she's not the only one.

Jonni, along with Orlanda and all the women, had started having frequent nightmares recently, too - or at least, they felt like they had. They couldn't remember them, so they couldn't say for sure, but they felt strangely bad when they woke up.

Rumors were still spreading throughout town that those who died in a nightmare would die in reality, too. There was, of course, the string of unexplained deaths.

So, did that mean the man called Cameron was making women have the nightmares? Maybe he was using some kind of drug that caused the dreams and the deaths.

The only problem was the way he appeared to look different to every girl who saw him.

Was there more than just one man? If so, why did he appear as any girl's ideal boy? And how did he even know what that was?


	8. DAY 6

**Day 6**

 **6th - Day  
** **"Chrono Rabbit"  
** **13:30**

Kameron sat at a counter facing the window. The café was packed with people in suits who appeared to be on their way to work.

Most of them seemed to be holding cups of coffee in one hand as they read the newspaper. Headlines about the series of strange deaths stood out from their front pages.

Vivian sat down in the seat beside Kameron. He turned to her, "Was your boss okay?"

"Yeah," Vivian ordered a coffee with two sugars from the waitress.

Several chairs were set up on a terrace on the pavement outside the window. The people sitting on them had coffee and newspapers too, but also seemed to be enjoying a pre-work smoke.

Vivian waited for her drink to be brought over, then tried to broach the subject she wanted to talk about. "Hey, there's something I want to ask you."

"Why are you being so formal all of a sudden?"

"Do you know a woman named Stella?"

The question was forthright, to draw a reaction out of him. Kameron repeated, "Stella? I don't know, though..."

"Huh?" Vivian said, dumbfounded.

Kameron tried looking at Vivian in the eyes, but she looked back suspiciously at him. He didn't seem to be lying.

"But... you must know one, right? Stella's a pretty common name."

"Yeah, but..." Kameron closed her eyes in thought, then looked back up at her. "Actually, I think I did meet one yesterday... I think my friend's kid was called Stella."

What an anticlimax. The person on the phone really didn't sound like a child.

Did Kameron really not know Stella? Then which of the two was her boyfriend? Why had she called?

As Vivian sat there in shock, the waitress set a cup of coffee in front of her. Kameron put in two sugars wordlessly. Vivian could even thank him.

"So, what's going on?" Kameron asked. "Who's Stella? What are you trying to say?"

"Well, yeah...There's this girl at work who said she might know you. Her name's Stella. She's really dulled, so I'm glad you don't know her."

"Is she your boss from before?"

"Yeah. Oh, wait, maybe someone else."

"You know, you've been looking pale, and sometimes I have no idea what's happening," Kameron said, looking at Vivian with a meek, extremely concerned expression.

"I guess so." Vivian agreed with what he was saying. She was so afflicted by nightmares every single night. Of course, the things she spoke about weren't consistent. "I don't really know about any of this myself, or what comes next. It's not going well with my clients, and it's getting to me."

"Oh. That's okay, then." Kameron stood from his stool, with more than half the contents of his cup still remaining. "You have to go to work now, right? Weren't you going to see a client?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"I have work now, too. See you later." Kameron glanced at Vivian with what she knew was a normal smile, then left. Today, he paid the bill.

* * *

 **"Lavatory at work"  
** **17:44**

During her lunch break, Vivian went into the bathroom at work. Shutting herself in a cubicle, she put down the lid on the toilet and, making sure it was clean, sat down on top of it.

Vivian took a look at the call history on her phone and selected Stella's number. She pressed the call button. The dial tone played for a little while.

Just as she was about to wonder if she would ever pick up, Vivian heard a grumpy-sounding voice say "Hello?" on the other end.

"Is this a good time?" Vivian asked. "This is Vivian, the girl you called recently. The one you told not to meet with..."

"Yeah, I get it. What's this about? I hope you're not going to tell me you've changed your mind about breaking up with him."

"No. It's not that...," Vivian searched around in his head for the words. "Just tell me one thing. Which boy are you talking about?"

"'Which boy?' What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, well, I asked around... and it turns out, nobody knows who you are."

She heard a gulp, "You... you told him?"

"Well yeah, of course I did. That's the quickest way to split up, right?"

"Y-yeah," Stella seemed bewildered. "But what do you mean, nobody knows me?"

"That's exactly why I called you." Vivian was growing tired of the conversation. "Look, why don't you just tell me something about the boy you called me about. Like, what does he look like?"

"What he looks like...? Well, what should I say? He's really seductive."

"I know that. Something else! Whatever you want, like his hair color or length, or something."

"His hair's black."

At this point, neither of them fitted the bill. Kameron had red-grey hair, and Cameron's was blonde.

After listening for a while, Vivian straightened herself and stood. "Sorry, but... you got the wrong girl."

"What?"

"I do know a guy called Kameron, but... it's somebody different."

"Don't you try to fool me!"

"Look, both the Kamerons I know are white."

Everything about the boy Stella claimed was her boyfriend indicated that he was Asian. Vivian could tell how agitated Stella was over the phone. "N-no way... It-it can't be... I-I mean... He told me about you himself!"

"It's a different person! Look I don't know who your Cameron is, but you've got the wrong person. Maybe he picked my number at random from a phone book and claimed I was his girlfriend because he wanted to break up with you. Look, I don't blame you for all of this. But please, just leave me alone."

"Wh-what's going on? I... But... Where's my Cameron...!?"

"How should I know?" Vivian did feel bad for her, but she didn't have time to be worrying about other people.

"But he's... he's all I have now! I'm already divorcing my husband! He came into my life suddenly, and then I just..."

So, the other girl was a cheater too. She seemed to be in quite a serious situation, just like Vivian.

"Uh, I'm sorry to hear that..."

"I-I'm going crazy! It's going to come for me...!" Stella shrieked, clearly not sane.

Vivian couldn't take any more, "I'm the one going crazy here! I won't call you again... So, leave me alone, okay?!"

Vivian ended the call without hearing the rest. Just to be sure, she blocked Stella's number. Closing the phone, she stared at the front. "What the hell was her problem?"

Vivian had no intention of getting involved again but couldn't shake off a twinge of anxiety.

Did she really have nothing to do with Vivian? Stella was cheating with a boy called Cameron, too. Could she really accept that this was a coincidence?

"Aw, geez..."

Nothing made sense. Vivian put the phone away in her pocket and opened the cubicle door.

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **19:16**

"So, it was all just a mistake?" Jonni asked, "The wrong guy!?"

"Yeah. The Cameron she was talking about was someone else entirely," Vivian said to Jonni.

"God." Orlanda shook her head in amazement.

"What happened there?" Jonni appeared stumped, too.

The three, along with Tobi, had arrived at their usual bar comparatively early.

Vivian was telling them about her conversation with Stella that afternoon. Eric was standing around in the aisle listening to them talk as usual.

Fiddling with her hat, Orlanda leaned back. "There are troublemakers everywhere."

"Anyway, Vivian - what are you going to do?" asked Orlanda.

"Well..." Vivian looked up, nodding in the direction of her rum and coke. "My nightmares were all caused by this trouble... But they made me realize something. I took everything for granted...until now. I feel like I remember what I've always hold dearest to me. I can't betray the person who's been with me all this time, despite of who I am..."

"Meaning?" Eric asked.

"I'm going to settle things once and for all. I can't lose him now."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be here drinking right now."

"Yeah," Vivian, of course, wanted to get out of her predicament without getting married. But if Kameron and Stella really had nothing to do with each other, Vivian, as the child's mother, had no alternative but to resign herself to her fate. All she could do in the end was to make sure the future went the way it should be.

"When it's all sorted, someday, Kameron is going to officially propose to me. "Not that he bought a ring or anything, though."

"So, anyway, about those nightmares...," Orlando began to spoke up "I'm pretty tired of 'em myself."

Vivian was surprised, "Wait... You guys had nightmares, too?"

"It's hard to remember the details, but..." Orlanda replied.

"I get you," Jonny said, drinking down the last of his sake. "Not that I think about it, Eric was saying all the girls who died were cheaters."

Vivian knew all this as well, "If that's true... What's gonna happen to ME?"

"Hey, don't be so selfish. He's really cute, right? Let us see," Orlanda said to Vivian. "You're gonna break up with him anyway. Let me try out for his next girlfriend!"

"Hey, girls!" Eric glared at the pair. "Vivian is being serious about all of this, so stop talking like kids."

"Why? Do you want to be the only one who gets to see him?"

"No! In fact, I'm going to take a break and keep an eye on you, so I can make sure you don't sneak a peek."

"I'll do the babysitting," Jonni stood first. "Come on, guys."

Vivian smiled at her friends. Silently, she was jealous that they were only onlookers.

* * *

 **Nightmare  
** **7th Day**

In the World of Nightmares, the same ewe who Vivian met before arrived at the exit a few steps after her. "I-I don't want to die... Where... where's Cameron?"

"Wait a sec... That voice...," Vivian realized. "You're... You're Stella, aren't you?"

"How do you know me? I'm Stella Delhomme, a dentist," Stella replied, but then realized as well, "I see... That voice... You're Vivian, aren't you? What a twist of fate... Looks like I'm cursed."

"You found out about something?"

"I've been cursed...by Cameron."

"How did you get a 'curse' from that?" Vivian asked.

"Don't you get it? You're cursed, too. It's revenge...for betrayal."

"Revenge? Then, the 'Cameron' you're talking about is...," Vivian's eyes grew wide in realization. Cameron did say something about a dentist the second day, and Stella was the exact dentist he was talking about. Meaning that Stella _really_ has been cursed by Cameron.

But before she can say more, the Shadow of Vivian catch up to them. Vivian urges Stella to climb, but she is frozen in fear as the mask on the Nightmare breaks away, revealing the monstrous version of Vivian underneath.

It grabbed Stella and swallowed her whole, much to the horror of the real Vivian, who watched helplessly before escaping.


	9. DAY 7

**Day 7**

 **7th - Day  
** **"Kappa Heaven"  
** **14:13**

 _I'm all alone! This time it's personal, because Cameron has gone on too far! It's like he crept into every corner of my life and took over! Now, I've got to break up with him all by myself._

 _Once I'm done with him, I'll be completely safe from Cameron in my home where he'll never be invited! I think_...

Orlanda yawned, "Girl...I need some sleep. The nightmares just keep on coming and coming... I had a dream where I felt dead. Struggled and struggled. Like I was being chased by something crazy."

Vivian nodded, "Yeah, Orlanda, we've had these crazy dreams every night... So how come we can't remember them clearly?"

"Now that you mention it...," Orlanda replied, but then groaned, "I can't remember."

On the screen was a suit-wearing female newscaster. The news was about to start. "The series of mysterious female deaths continues with yet another gruesome discovery this morning," The newscaster reported.

"Another one?" Orlanda groaned.

"Local dentist, Stella Delhomme, age 42, was found dead at her home."

As the announcer read out her name, a photo of the victim's face was shown.

Vivian gasped. She was enthralled as she stared at the screen intently. For a moment, she even forgot to breathe, "She's... Stella..."

 _The upright ewe_ , Vivian thought. _This has to be a joke._

A totally out-of-place image surfaced in her head. It began to move in her vision. A new scenery, tinged with vivid colors, began to emerge and blot out the one before her.

 _Wait a second... I know her_ , Vivian knew instinctively.

"Her husband, who she'd been feuding with him, found her dead in her sleep this morning," the newscaster continued. "Like the other victims, her body was in an atypically weakened state, inconsistent with known cases of sudden death..."

The memory began to melt into Vivian's consciousness. The upright female sheep was _really_ Stella.

 _No, there were many ewes, but she was one of them?_ _She had helped me out in the nightmare..._

Vivian remembered all of it - everything that had happened in the nightmares. The mysterious cubes. The cold, coarse texture. The monsters chasing after her from the depths of the earth.

"It... It can't be... That voice of the ewe who helped me, the woman who called me... they all sounded like...," Vivian muttered, then shouted in shock. "NO FUCKIN' WAY!"

"Hey, What's wrong?" Orlanda asked.

"It's her," Vivian cried, not caring how they reacted. "We met last night...in my dream... I met her in my dream yesterday. I remember now! It was her! She died in my dream!"

Stella must have died afterwards. Vivian bit her lip. The things she'd talked about in the dream echoed in her ears. She didn't know why she had forgotten them.

"Her...?" Orlanda asked. "You mean the girl on the news just now? That's crazy talk, girl..."

"Yeah...," Vivian said, "But what did she say... Oh, that's right, it's starting to come back to me now! She said it was a 'curse!' Because she betrayed someone..."

Orlanda must be having the dreams, too, but she didn't seem to have recalled the specifics yet. "You trying to tell me she was killed in her dreams or something? Girl, you crazy."

"Maybe not. Just think about... The rumor... Maybe it's true...The dreams we've been having every night... The rumor that girls who cheat have nightmares. The rumor that you die in real life if you die in the nightmare, too."

And then, Vivian realized something else. The only people in the real world who acknowledged that they had specifically met Cameron himself were the women who had been seduced by him. Or was that really the case?

"Did you really just say that?" Orlanda asked. "How does that tie in with betrayal? I'm the one who's betrayed."

"Yeah... Sorry..." Vivian said softly.

"Enough of that bullshit!" Orlanda barked, seriously. "Maybe because we just can't think straight because we're too damn tired! We wake up all bleary-eyed and the whole world's full of rumors. Then, we can't sleep because all this crazy shit's stuck in our heads!"

Vivian sighed, "You're...probably right..."

"Good," Orlanda replied. "...I didn't betray anyone. I was the one who got betrayed. So why is...UGH!"

"...I didn't mean to bring that up. I was just thinking."

"Eh, it's all stupid. So... you dump the guy you're cheating with yet?"

"Actually...," Vivian stood up. "I was gonna go talk to him after this. After all, I've made up my mind. I'm ending it once and for all. When it's all done, Kameron - MY Kameron - is gonna propose to me, the one he know he love. Like I said before, he hasn't brought a ring yet. Haha..."

"Good luck."

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **19:34**

Orlanda and Tobi were the only two in their little friendship group booth.

"What's up with Vivian?" Tobi asked.

"Just leave her alone...," Orlanda replied. "Don't get messed up in all that."

"Anyway, there's something I wanted to tell you...," Tobi began as she turned to Orlanda. "Yesterday... I finally became a woman! Got rid of my V-Card, BOOM!"

"Wait, back up... With who?"

"Take a wild guess! Shouldn't be too hard."

"It's Eric, right...?" Orlanda sighed, guessing.

"Yup, bingo!" Tobi exclaimed. "But there was something weird about it... I can't really explain it... It's probably because it was first time. Maybe, you know, it was just my imagination, but..."

"S-So, uh, what happened to Jonni? Come here by yourself? Heh heh...," Orlanda asked, interrupting.

"Yeah, she's not coming today," Tobi answered. "She looked pretty bad earlier. Weird that everyone's tired all the time, huh?"

"I don't think Vivian's infected us, dammit!"

Cameron soon showed up. Maybe he had somehow guessed what it was that Vivian wanted to discuss from her tone and behavior. He didn't head to the counter to order a drink, but rather went straight over to the booth.

Sitting down beside her, he suppressed his usual innocence and listened carefully to what Vivian said.

As the conversation progressed, his face fell in the blink of an eye.

"So, you see... There's nothing wrong with you..." Vivian finished.

"So, you mean there's someone else you like, isn't there?" Cameron finally managed to get it.

 _Yeah, I hate you and I'm dumping you_ , were her true thoughts. But what would happen if she actually said it?

Without directly answering his question, Vivian went on talking, "I've been wanting to tell you all this time, but I couldn't... Had a lot of things on my mind, and then you came along... I was just trying to escape reality."

"Do you like him more than me?"

"I'm really sorry, but I'm someone he really needs to hold dear. And he's someone I hold dear for so long. So..."

"Hold dear...?" Cameron asked, seeming quite quiet. "So, does that mean you're already dating him...?"

"Sorry."

Cameron grab a glass of rum and coke, and lifted it and glugged it down, "It's okay..."

Vivian's head flew up at the unexpected words. "What? It's... okay?"

"Yeah. As long as I'm number one, you can have fun with him."

Vivian's mind reeled. Was that not an ideal proposal? She could spend her married life with Kameron, and keep her relationship going with the younger, wilder Cameron...

No, she couldn't. At the last moment, some common sense spoke to her. "That might work for you, but it's more complicated for me."

"Why?"

"Why...? WHY?! I'LL TELL YOU WHY!" Vivian looked straight at him, angrily, feeling like she wanted to splash him. She had to give him an up-front answer. "Because I might be actually pregnant with his child. So... I've decided to marry him."

"You're joking..., right?" Cameron's normally carefree voice trembled. She thought this was the first time she had ever heard him like this. Vivian angrily shook her head.

"B-but!" His voice was louder than necessary. "That's okay, too. I just want to be your boyfriend. So...!"

Vivian looked at him, catching sight of his fear-filled eyes. "NO! Don't you get it?! I don't want to see you anymore. You're really pissing me off!"

"You can't do this!" Cameron's face contorted as heart-pumping fear welling in the corners of his eyes.

"I have a boyfriend. Don't you see that it's a big mistake?"

Cameron rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. "A mi... Mistake...?" he asked.

"I'm not sexy-looking, and I have no money. Whichever way you take it, I'm not a good for you, alright?! I think you just went along with it because you're still young. I'm different from the girls your age, that's all. I'm the same old girl you could find anywhere. So..."

"That's not true!" Cameron said. Of course, Vivian was angry. There was no way he would understand her reasoning. "I know this is awkward, but I'll give you anything else you..."

Before Cameron could finish, Vivian stood. Then, she slapped him in the face and splashed him with a little bit of her rum and coke, as Vivian yelled. "Just a message to us single and rebound girls. Only this time, it's not business. It's personal...JERK!"

Cameron backed himself up as Vivian continued angrily, "Like I said, don't you see you're making a huge mistake!? Do I look like a tramp to you?! You really, REALLY should at least leave me alone...!"

Then, Vivian screamed and roared at him in anger, and Cameron ran off in fear. As he was finally gone, Vivian finally came to her senses as she snapped herself out of it.

She can't believe she did that.

Vivian closed her eyes and sighed of relief as she said, "Whew...That felt pretty good."

* * *

An hour later, Vivian was being treated in the booth she had sat in earlier. All that was left on the table was an empty glass of rum and coke. Cameron was gone. Maybe he had decided to leave Vivian alone and gone home.

"Uhhh... Vivi...? Hey, Chieftess...?"

"...You all right there, buddy?"

Tobi and Orlanda had come back. They sat down in the seats opposite as Vivian answered, "Yeah".

"Looks like you got him good."

Neither of them had expected that things would go this far. Nor had Vivian.

"Where's... Jonni...?" Vivian asked.

"She went home. Looks like she starts early tomorrow."

"Did he take it well, though? The guy... Uh, well, maybe that was a stupid question."

Just then, Eric came in, giving Vivian another rum and coke. Tobi greeted him, smiling lovingly.

Eric waved to Tobi and then turned to Vivian, "...Vivian, why don't you go home? You look kinda...better."

"Are you kidding? I deserve it. I'll drink a bit more before I go...but I feel kinda tired tonight..."

"Maybe you're just gonna have to swear never to do this again..." said Eric. "I mean, it's not the right thing to do, but just pretend this was a bad dream..."

"Are you kidding?" Vivian giggled a bit, "Heh... You don't have to try and cheer me up... I'm just glad that he's gone. Delighted. Ecstatic."

"Just go home early and get some sleep, okay?" Orlanda stood, leaving with Tobi. Eric brought over a few classes of cold water before Vivian could leave for home. It seemed that to Vivian, everything should be back to normal. She thought that everything should be back to the way it was...

But she'll soon thought wrong. Because little did Vivian know that...when she woke up the next day, something was telling her the worse has yet to come...


	10. DAY 8?

**Day 8?**

 **8th - Day  
** **"Vivian's room"  
** **7:04**

It didn't take Vivian so long to doze off anymore. She could instantly tell when she woke up. She could see her slightly light ceiling. Morning sunlight cast shadows on the blinds. She was scared to look beside her. She timidly felt around with her hands.

Vivian... She thought she heard a yearning voice calling out to her. In a panic, Vivian looked over, but nothing was there.

There was no Cameron. Vivian let out a long sigh, facing upwards again and burying her face in her pillow.

"Whoa, I really feel rested... Slept pretty well..." Vivian hadn't felt like this in the morning for a while.

"I haven't felt like this in a long while... Wait, I didn't have any nightmares...," Vivian tried to remember what had happened while she was asleep but couldn't. She didn't even feel its unique sense of fear. "Does that mean... I'm saved?"

Vivian cheered as she got up to dance and squealed happily. Everything's back to normal...or so she thought.

"Yes, sun shining. Birds may or may not be singing. Just another typical normal day," Vivian screamed and cheered happily. Just then, she heard the doorbell ring, "Now what could it be this time...?"

"Vivian? Are you home?" A voice appeared. It was Kameron's voice.

Vivian sighed as she relaxed. Her beloved had a key. It wasn't all that unusual for him to come in like this. The nightmares of the past few days, as well as Stella's appearance, had apparently made her paranoid.

Vivian headed for the door on her bare feet. She was in the same crisp suit again today. "Yeah, I was asleep..."

"Oh... Sorry, but you weren't answering your phone... So, um, we got to talk, okay?"

"You called? Okay." Vivian opened the door, inviting him in. "Here, come on in."

Vivian smiled, relieved that everything is all fine. But then...

"Hello!" A voice suddenly said from behind her.

Vivian snapped as her smile faded. She knew that voice anywhere...

Her knees went weak as Vivian just managed to support herself using the wall. "Wh-who's there!?"

Kameron peered over Vivian's shoulder and looked around the room.

Vivian turned, too, praying that she was just hallucinating again, but she could clearly see Cameron inside the room. He was in his underwear, at least, and he wore a long t-shirt.

 _You've got to be fucking kidding me... What are you doing here...!?_ , Vivian thought as Cameron grinned silently.

Kameron's face tensed as he sees him face-to-face. "Huh...!? Who is that...?"

Vivian was startled, looking at Cameron, "Wh-wh-wh-what're you doing here?! Oh god...this can't be happening...!"

"So, you need to have a chat with Vivian, right? Okay, come on in, make yourself at home."

Cameron put his hands together, tilting his head slightly. "How about a cup of coffee?" Humming, he headed toward the kitchen.

Kameron looked around, his movements were awkward and robotic, "...Yeah, I'm going inside, and you're going to tell me exactly what's going on here."

Walking awkwardly and slightly past Vivian, Kameron walked straight inside. All Vivian could do was watch in bewilderment.

First, she put on some clothes. She couldn't wander around in her panties and bra, and she wanted to make some time for herself to calm down.

Vivian knelt on the floor, facing Kameron across the low glass table. He sat on the side nearest the door, Vivian nearest to the bed. She felt the full-on acute pressure of the silence, balling her hands on her knees, too scared to look up.

Vivian could hear absentminded humming from the kitchen. What was he thinking?

"So, uh...," Kameron said, looking at her, nervously with a tiny bit of suspicion. "If I'm not mistaken, it would appear you have another man in your life, yes?"

"N-no, no, no, it..." Vivian wanted to say it with conviction, but there was no way she could deny it. "He just... I..."

Kameron sighed, "...Look, if you're going to try to tell the truth, at least look at me in the eye?"

Vivian looked up at him. Kameron shot an icy gaze at her through his glasses, sending shivers down her spine and giving her goosebumps.

"Let me get this straight, then. You somehow got into this even though you knew that I knew you were pregnant? With my child?"

 _Aww, crap. I got to fix this mess right now!_ Vivian thought. She had accepted the destiny she'd been given, and on top of that, she had broken up with Cameron the day before. She thought things would back to normal, but they're not.

Vivian leaned forward, trying to think of an explanation, "N-No... That isn't it..."

"So, what is it then!?" Kameron slammed his hand down on the table with a bang. Startled, Vivian threw herself back, supporting herself on her hands. "I thought you were acting a little weird recently... But this..."

"I-It's not what you think! So much has been going wrong... You've got to believe me here, okay!?"

"Okay, here you go!" A delicate white arm crossed in front of her, setting down cups on the table. "Oh - I made sure to put two sugars in yours, Vivian."

Kameron was the only one who knew about her habit of putting two sugars in her coffee. Or, at least, he used to be.

Cameron sat down beside Vivian, as though it were the completely natural thing to do. His hips touched Vivian's. "Hey, Vivi? I think this is a good chance for you to tell it to him straight." Cameron looked over at Vivian, shooting a cold stare sideways at Kameron. "He's been dragging you down."

"Huh!?"

"Hey, I never said that...!"

"So, wh-what are you saying...!?" Kameron's face steadily grew red. His shoulders, arms and hands trembled. "And I don't want to hear any more of your bullcrap."

"Vivian, you're not seriously gonna try and play dumb now, are you? Not after how you appreciated my body all those times..."

"Y-you little..." The lines on Kameron's forehead deepened, but Cameron ignored him.

Vivian wanted to shut him up, but her mind was blank, and she couldn't find the words.

"If you work hard enough to get something, you'll get it. Don't you think that's true? Well, she worked me hard, and now she's got me, simple as that. Besides..." Cameron wrapped his arm around Vivian's, resting his cheek on her shoulder. "I'm pretty sure you have nooo idea of this even, but this one's a wild woman in a sack. I don't think you can satisfy her anymore..."

"Wha...!" Kameron's eyes were wide. His mouth flapped open and shut, but he seemed to be too angry to speak. "What are you, sick in the head or something!?" he finally shouted.

Vivian felt herself growing faint.

"Listen, buddy. Vivian here needs one thing in this world, and it's sitting right next to her," Cameron said, still ignoring him with a calm face. "Now take a hint and skedaddle out of here."

"W-why the hell should I? You're the one who should be leaving, bastard!" Kameron leaned over, slamming his palm down on the table. The cups bounced up, spilling their contents.

Cameron watched the liquid spread, then looked back over at Kameron. "Careful, you keep making that face, you're gonna start getting wrinkles, you old gramp..."

"Wh-why you... You little devil...! Dammit, Vivian!" shouted Kameron, trembling all over, sounding as though he were about to explode.

Vivian could almost see him lit fuse. But now things had come this far, she couldn't pretend anymore as she shouted, "STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU! Look, just listen to me. I tried to break things off with him, but he just showed up, and-!"

"W... What? You expect to believe that and forgive you!? How can I!?"

"Kameron! Just let me explain-" Vivian tried to calm him down, but she lowered her head as it was enveloped in darkness from the other side.

"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

"Hey, stop that. Don't you have any pity?" said Cameron. "It doesn't matter whether you forgive her or not. She just wants to be with the one she loves."

Vivian squirmed, but hardly put up any resistance. She finally looked up, and had expected Kameron to be mad with rage, but his face was expressionless. "Kameron?"

Kameron stood giddily, in complete silence, walking backwards without looking away from them, as though sleepwalking.

"What are you...?"

Kameron's hips knocked against the kitchen counter. For some reason, he began fishing around in the sink.

"Hey, now. Looking for this?" Cameron asked with a slight lisp, suddenly raising his right arm. He gripped a kitchen knife in his hand.

"Hey... Stop it..." Vivian shouted at Cameron. Then, she turned to Kameron, her boyfriend, trying to smooth things over somehow. "Look, just listen to me! I-I've already called it off with him! He just snuck in here, okay? Please, you've got to believe me!"

"Because of you...," the blonde Cameron said from beside her with a sigh. The darkness in his voice was palpable, as though echoing from the depths of a deep well. "It's because of people like you that Vivian is so confused right now! If you'd just go away, she could finally be free!" he said, leaping to his feet.

Vivian hurried after him. Grabbing the staggering Kameron's arm, she used herself to shield him. The blade cut into Vivian's side. She collapsed onto the floor.

Cameron ignored her, attacking Kameron. He climbed on top of the fallen man. Kameron squirmed and struggled. His movements intensified, then ceased completely.

"Kameron!" Vivian screamed. She forgot all about the pain in her side. Getting up, she crawled over to the two boys. As she reached them, Cameron rolled over onto the floor. She stiffened. Something cylindrical poked out of his side. It was the knife's handle.

"No... way..." Vivian could tell what he was doing but couldn't take her eyes off the collapsed Cameron. "No, no, no, no, no... This can't be happening...? Aaaa... aaaaaaaah!"

Vivian screamed. Everything seemed to be going wrong for her, but she had never expected anything like this. Not bloodshed. She wanted to scream more. She wanted to shut it all out. But she couldn't. If she lost her cool now, it was all over.

"Vivian? Look at me... Calm down!" Kameron crawled over to Vivian. Leaning towards her, he slapped her hard on the cheek.

Vivian instantly grew calm, "Wh-wha..."

Kameron pressed his hand to her cheek. "Just calm down... Everything is gonna be fine!" he said, both to her and to himself. He saw something glinting out of the corner of his eye. It was his glasses. He unconsciously picked them up, opening them and putting them on. His eyes were finally focused.

"...Listen. I'll go home now, okay?" Kameron said slowly, looking at Vivian straight in the eye. "I'll leave the rest to you..."

Had the neighbors heard the commotion? They might already have called the police. If Kameron stayed, he would be sent to prison. Vivian couldn't just stand by and watch that happen.

It was Cameron who had been carrying the knife, so it might count as self-defense, but that didn't mean he was totally innocent. In any case, he had tried to pick up the knife himself, intending to kill Cameron. He had plenty of a motive for murder.

People might not believe that it was self-defense.

"You'll do something about this." Kameron's words were baseless. Should she hide the body? Dispose of it? How? She had no idea and didn't know anyone who might.

"But..." Vivian glanced behind Kameron, quickly averting his eyes again.

"It's fine. We can think about this later!"

Vivian stood, grabbing Kameron's arm, and dragged him up with all her might. His body was like that of a lifeless doll. She put his arm around her shoulders, helping him over to the front door, taking both their weight on her knees. He felt something strange under her bare feet.

She looked down. The pool of blood had spread across the whole area, snaking across the floor with Cameron collapsed at its center. Some of it reached as far as the door.

"What's going on...?" Vivian asked.

It didn't seem real. There was no way this was normal. Vivian felt like she had been walking forever, before she finally came to a stop in front of the doorknob. Gripping onto it, she pushed the door open, walking outside without pause.

"What's...?" Tremors ran through Kameron's body. Vivian clung tightly to him as he asked, "What's this!?"

A bizarre area spread before them as giant blocks piled up in front of their eyes.

One row was at roughly the height of a person. They were yellowish, with strange characters and images carved onto their faces. Countless blocks were set into rows, piled up high, creating irregular stairs. It looked like a temple from an ancient civilization but wasn't weathered enough to be. The faces of the cubes were smooth, looking as though they had only just been carved.

"This is..." The blocks were surrounded by total darkness. Vivian couldn't see anything

Just then, her head hurt as Vivian felt like she remembered the scene in front of her.

That's right. It was what she'd seen in the dream. It looked just like it.

Vivian shouted, "ARE YOU FRICKIN' KIDDING ME?!"

Suddenly, Vivian sensed something eerie behind them. Something she couldn't, shouldn't look at, approaching. Then, she heard a voice that said that, but it wasn't the voice she was familiar with. It was warped, twisted, amplified.

Beside her, Kameron looked behind her, scared. He didn't seem to have heard the voice, but he seemed to sense it, too. "Vivian... Something's... coming...!" Kameron said as both he and Vivian noticed that the scenery was changing again.

A corridor, about three meters wide, stretched out behind them. It looked like blocks made of the same material were being set up on the other side of the corridor. Along both sides was, of course, an abyss. Walking into it looked like suicide.

Before them were the cube stairs. Behind them, an infinite corridor. Neither looked like a dead end, but she knew instinctively which seemed more dangerous.

"We've gotta get out of here..." Vivian tested to see if Kameron could stand by himself. Grabbing his wrist, the two fled for their lives.

But just as they finally reach all the way to the exit, ...

"Kameron!" Vivian called out to him, "It's gonna be all right. We can make it back through here!"

"Make it back...?" Kameron asked, looking at her.

"Back to where we were! Let's go together!"

But then, Kameron looked down, disappointed, "I'm sorry, I just can't think of the future after all this...!"

"Calm down. You got a child to think about, too. It'll be okay."

"Wait, you mean you and me...? ...You still thought about us back then...?"

"Of course, I did!" Vivian answered as tears rolled in her eyes, "I didn't want to cheat on you! I was just confused...about our future, I guess. I just snapped and I'm sorry...! I know I did something I can't undo. I won't make excuses. But I realized something... How dear you were to me... I understand that now! So, please, Kameron! Come with me now! I'm begging you!"

"But I... can't." Kameron replied, "I can't do it anymore, Vivian... You should just go..."

But when Kameron was about to fall, Vivian saved him as she said, holding him tightly, "You've just gotta believe in me... Please, Kameron... I can't lose you. Not like this!"

"Vivian, do you...really mean it? Do you trust me?"

But just as Vivian was gonna answer, a bright light flashed before her eyes...


	11. DAY 8

**Day 8**

 **8th - Day  
** **"Vivian's room"  
** **7:04**

Just as she was about to drown, Vivian emerged from the water's surface. But her clothes were soaked, but there was no water around her. She wasn't drowning, either.

Vivian sat up in her bed. She was clinging onto the sheets for dear life. Her breathing was chaotic, her heart pounding furiously to the point where it hurt her head.

"Hey, are you alright?" came a puzzled voice from above.

Kameron, wearing his glasses, was looking down on her. He appeared confused and worried. His hair and clothing showed no signs of dishevelment. He looked perfect enough to be put on display in a shop window.

"Huh...? Wh-What's going on? You came to visit me... in this room..." Vivian was perplexed. A succession of scenes bounced around in her head. "Then, he suddenly just..."

Then, she remembered the blonde Cameron perched ostentatiously beside her. Kameron set him off. Cameron took a kitchen knife, stood up and attacked Kameron. One collapsed, the other straddling him, and then...

"That's right! Where is he? Where's Cameron!?" Vivian asked.

"Cameron...?"

"Yeah, there were two of you!" Vivian replied, then tried to call out to the blonde Cameron, "Cameron! Hey, Cameron!"

Vivian stood, thrusting aside the sheets. She looked around the kitchen, but Cameron was nowhere to be seen. The floor was dry, too. She could see no evidence of a fight.

"Wh-what the hell...? What's going on...?" Vivian turned around, shaking her head back and forth. There was no response.

"Oh... So _that's_ what's going on." Kameron muttered.

"'What's going on'? 'What's going on'!? You didn't see him!?" Vivian asked in fear.

"Nope. He doesn't seem to be here today." Kameron answered.

"But how could... Then, before..."

Hadn't they had a tussle? Hadn't he been stabbed him in the stomach and fallen to the floor? Did he know something about the stabbing and vanishing of Cameron?

"Anyway, there's something I want to talk to you about." Kameron took a deep breath, "...You've been afraid that you've cheating on me, haven't you? Did you admit it?"

"Yeah, of course, I admit it, but... But I thought everything's good now! After all, I thought things should be back to the way it was..."

"What are you talking about? You haven't made sense the whole time." Kameron's shoulders drooped, and he sighed. "Talk about disappointment."

This wasn't exactly the time for disappointment. The boy had bled heavily, then stopped moving. At this rate, Kameron was going to end up being a murderer. So why was he behaving this way?

"...Huh? H-Hold on! Wait a second..." Vivian began to ask on how Kameron was so composed, "You really don't remember anything?"

"Are you still dreaming? You didn't answer your phone, so I came by. You were writhing around and talking in your sleep..."

"By myself?"

"Yeah, so that's why I woke you up just now."

So, had the boy never been there to begin with?

"No way! So, then... that was all a dream...? A dream...?"

So, Vivian had another nightmare. That meant that Cameron was still alive. Wherever he was, he was alive.

"Oh... Thank God..." This was the first time Vivian had been glad to have yet another nightmare. Her legs went weak, and she slid on the bed. Now, however, it calmed her.

"I'm glad that you're okay, too..." Vivian looked up at Kameron, "A lot of things have happened, but... but I get it now. You did promise to treat me right, right? I mean...promise to treat the 'two' of us right. Ha... I finally understand now. I realized just how much you meant to my life."

"Yeah, about that..." Kameron's voice was stiff and guarded, something that was unusual for him. His expression looked so distant, "Um, listen... It turns out you weren't pregnant... It was a mistake."

"Huh...? A...M-mistake?"

"Yeah. So, let's break up."

Vivian's eyes were widened. Things were supposed to have changed.

 _B-Break up...?_ Vivian thought, _H-Hold on... Wait, I wasn't pregnant! I fixed the cheating situation, so everything's supposed to be back to normal, right!? I mean, I finally dumped Cameron, and I was ready to get married. So, what more could I've possibly done wrong!?_

Cameron was alive. Kameron was okay, too. Vivian wasn't pregnant, and now he wanted to break up with Vivian. But it should have been the other way around. Vivian was the one who had approached Cameron about breaking up. It was too complicated.

Vivian was so confused. What was real, and what was a dream...?

"...Wha? Break up...?" Vivian repeated his words. "Now, j-just wait a second-"

"You're cheating on me with a boy named Cameron, right? The guy with the same name as me...," said Kameron, smiling a bit.

"Now h-hold on there! I was just confused... I am done with him, okay? And I will never see him again. Plus, I was going to apologize to you properly..."

"It's not about forgiveness," Kameron shook his head. "Did you think I didn't notice?"

"Huh...?" Vivian looked back at the previous days. She had taken a call from the boy right in front of him. She'd chased him out when he came to visit.

She really had been acting weirdly lately. So, Kameron had _really_ noticed, then.

"I've been with you for so long... So, of course, I noticed... The prank calls must've been from him," Kameron said, sighed of relief. "To be honest a part of me was relieved when you know that you're not pregnant. To tell the truth, I sorta knew that earlier, but I couldn't tell you...because I felt like you'd leave me..."

 _Wait, wait, wait! He was gonna leave me?_ Vivian thought. _It doesn't matter whether or not I'm pregnant... Of course, if it wasn't for the pregnancy. After all, it would just trigger the start of something big. But I need Kameron! Come on, I finally realized that I only cared for Kameron!_

Without the pregnancy, Vivian wouldn't have to make her mind up about marrying him. She wouldn't have to break up with her boyfriend, either. It was too late now, though. She'd already done it.

"Now h-hold on a second, just listen to me!" Vivian said, "I wasn't serious about _him_! I don't even think about _him_ anymore! You're all that I need, Kameron! Just back there, in the dream... You and I... We..." But she sighed to stop for a moment.

"Calm down for a second!" Kameron replied, "Listen... I came here to break up with you."

"Wha...? No..." Vivian was stunned, froze at those words. The whole world around her began to crack. She could hear all the people shouting, laughing. Everything around her cracked as she continued, "You're kidding... right?"

"When I thought you were pregnant, I was scared... But I thought you'd be happy..."

"But I-I was happy," Vivian said, with tears rolling in her eyes. "I'm not lying. It just caught me by surprise, that's all..."

But Kameron went up to Vivian and hug her as he said, "It's okay now... I didn't come here to discuss. I mean, if we did have a child, things wouldn't work out for us in the end."

"But we can fix this. I'll do anything for you!"

"Please, you don't have to do anything for me. It's for the greater good," Kameron smiled a bit. "...None of that will change anything."

"Then what do you want me to do!?"

"Nothing," Kameron replied calmly smiling, apparently thinking she had been talking to him. "Nothing will come or left between us, so just don't worry about me. In the meantime, let's just enjoy our lives."

Kameron turned his back to Vivian. Looking back, he walked - across the dry, un-bloodied floor of the real world - to the door. He vanished from view.

Vivian heard the door open, then close. The entire room shook slightly. "...Is this real? Or am I still dreaming...?" she said, "It is... It really is over. I've been with him this long. Now I know he's serious... I can't believe it... What am I supposed to do now...? Kameron..."

* * *

 **"Vivian's Room"  
** **13:13**

 _Guilt is so awful! What am I gonna do? I just stood here and let all this happen! I've ruined my perfect life by cheating with another guy! I've ruined my one chance at true happiness!_

 _I wish I could take it back. I mean, I wish it was me and Kameron again, that everything was back to normal again! I would've figure out the whole rumors and what's causing the deaths of women in a second..._

It was painfully silent. Vivian couldn't hear the sounds of traffic or car horns, so it must have been late. She remained in that position for a while, simply staring into space.

Vivian crawled over to the table and picked up her phone. She was full of regrets. For some reason, however, she needed to hear Kameron's voice. She wanted to tell him everything. She wanted him to console her. She wanted to sob and beg for mercy.

Had the nightmare begun again?

Vivian went outside in the rain for a walk around town, "I can't remember the last time I was alone in the city... What the hell am I supposed to do...?"

Vivian looked up at her cheap apartment. She had lived in this building for more than a decade. The outer walls were made of brick, black soot and trickles of rain clinging to their surface.

The phone inside her pocket emitted a shrill noise. Vivian reflexively took it out and pressed the call button.

"Kameron!" she heard herself shout.

After a moment of silence, she was answered by a voice brimming with fury. It was her boss from work. Vivian apologized for skipping work without permission, then hung up without having paid much attention.

Vivian sneezed. Her hair and clothes were soaked through, chilling her to the bone. Pedestrians shot glances at Vivian. Feeling as though all of this were happening to someone else, she went back to walking through town to her job.

* * *

 **"Lavatory at work"  
** **17:12**

"Hey, don't get so down, Vivi...," Orlanda said to her. "You'll end up dying for real."

Vivian and Orlanda were in the bathroom together during the break. Orlanda tried to cheer her up, but Vivian wasn't feeling better for real.

"Hey," Vivian finally spoke. "I wouldn't happen to be... in the middle of a dream right now, would I?"

Vivian was a complete mess when Orlanda looked at her, stunned, "Wow, you are fucked up... Wait, was he serious?"

Vivian sighed, "Yeah. He ain't answering my calls. I expected that."

"Well, in hindsight, maybe you shouldn't have dumped that other guy, huh?"

"...About that," Vivian explained, "I finally broke with him at the bar... And yet the next day, Kameron came to my room, and he was there... That was a horrific scene. But boy, am I glad it was a dream. But it feels weird... Why do I feel like that it wasn't a dream after all...?"

"Girl, if it wasn't a dream, your ex-boyfriend would be all over the news," Orlanda replied. "After all, you told me that he stabbed the other guy, right? So, uh, what's the big deal, then? Hasn't the cheating boy called you either?"

"I don't know...I doubt it," Vivian checked her phone, but when she did, she was stunned by something shocking, "Huh? Nothing's here..."

"No calls, huh? Too bad..."

"N-No, it's all gone... O-Orlanda, it is seriously gone... What the hell is this!? Everything! It's all gone! Why!?"

"Out of toilet paper?"

"Not that!" Vivian shouted, "His texts, they're all gone! Crap, his info, too! Not just that... Incoming calls, outgoing calls... His number, too!? Everything related to him... It's all gone!"

"It disappeared...? What about that one pic?"

"Nope, I can't find it... It's missing, too!"

"The hell, man... I never got to see it..." Orlanda shouted in dismay.

"What is going on!?" Vivian rubbed her head.

"Maybe Kameron deleted it when he found out you cheated on him? When you weren't looking...," Orlanda tried to guess.

"He wouldn't do something like that!"

"Maybe the guy you dumped did it."

"I don't get it," Vivian said. "I used this phone to call him yesterday. We met, split, and that was it..."

But then, something clicked Orlanda as she was confused and asked, "Yesterday? Where was that?"

"What do you mean, 'where'...? At the bar, where else!? After I finally broke up with him, you guys came by and cheered me on, remember? You don't remember that?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember that part, but all I saw was you looking all relaxed by yourself..."

"By myself...?" Vivian was stunned. "No way...That's impossible! It can't be... This is so messed up... All traces of him are gone, nobody's seen him... This can't real!"

"Uh, Vivi... You honestly sound crazy now."

"I... am... NOT CRAZY! It's all his fault I'm going through with all of this! He's got to fucking exist! This is all bullshit!"

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **19:10**

Vivian took her usual seat at the booth. The bar had only just opened, but her friends soon showed up. It looked like Orlanda had been concerned and called them all.

"Hey... So, you and Kameron really break up?" Jonni asked.

"Yeah..." Vivian told them the gist of the morning's events. She told them that her boyfriend had broken up with her after she admitted to cheating; that she hadn't been pregnant; and that the Cameron, who wasn't her boyfriend, had vanished without a trace.

"So, uh, hey, back to yesterday, are you sure you really did not see him?" Vivian asked Eric.

The night she broke up with Cameron, he must have been on duty. Eric held the tray and let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I remember everything..." he answered. "You came here alone, left alone... And the whole time you were here, you drank alone. Right, Tobi?"

"That's exactly how I remember it. Maybe you're just spacing out from a lack of sleep," Tobi said as she reached for the ketchup bottle. "After all, you were pretty relaxed last night."

"Yeah, you were totally fucked up, girl," Orlanda said as Tobi, holding a french fry in one hand, nodded in agreement.

Vivian objected instantly. "S-s-so what? I-I-I was just dreaming the entire time I was here?" Her words quickened in pace. She sank back into her chair, scratching her head. "I'm sick of these goddamn dreams every goddamn night! Wait, then when did that dream start? This is so fucked up!"

"Hey, man, take it easy...," Jonni soothed in a controlled voice, but at this point her calmness did nothing but piss her off.

"How the hell am I supposed to take it easy!? I'm only in this mess because I cheated with him!" Vivian glared at each of them. "Come on, someone tell me! Where the hell is he!?"

"I dunno..." Tobi said, throwing her head back as if to distance herself from Vivian.

It was no good. The more fired up she is, the more people treated her like a madwoman.

"UGH, my head hurts..." Vivian drained the last of her rum and coke in a single gulp. Her head hurt, like it was full of iron.

"You all right?" Eric asked as he see Vivian laying her head down.

"Yeah, like that," Tobi pointed, "You were by yourself just like that. Maybe you were dreaming. Messed up."

"I'm not messed up!" Vivian groaned, "...I'm just saying that it's impossible for him not to exist."

"Pills, alcohol... Nothing works for that," Orlanda spoke up.

"Yeah... I keep seeing it..." Jonni sighed.

"Whoa, you guys are still having it...?" Tobi was shocked, "Although now that you mention it, I thought Eric looked like he had a nightmare, too..."

"Oh, you noticed?" Eric smiled at Tobi, but then he pondered, "I don't remember anything, though."

"I thought only us girls had that dream...," Tobi said. "Maybe gender doesn't matter, huh? Maybe it's a weird chain reaction?"

"Hey, the dreams we've been having...," Jonni said, "Don't you feel like we're all seeing the same dream? I can't remember much, but you know, it felt like... I was trying to get the hell away from something. Like that? Climbing up and up..."

"Yeah, mine was like that, too," Orlanda agreed. "Or...more like struggling without getting anywhere."

"So, what, we're being shown the same dream?" Eric asked.

"Does that mean I'm gonna have these nightmares too, eventually?" Tobi was terrified. "Oh man, I hope not."

Orlanda looked at Vivian, "It's all because Vivian started talking about it... Since I've been hanging out with her so much, she's transferred some of her stress onto me."

"So, uh, Vivian, how are you gonna make it up to us, huh?" Jonni asked her.

But Vivian soon got up, "You expect me to how I can make it up to you? It's not my fault that you guys are having the same weird dreams."

Eric groaned, "Oh... She's messed up again!"

"I'm not crazy...," Vivian said.

"Jury's still out," Orlanda replied, "She's not gonna tell us she 'met that boy again' later on, is she?"

"I wouldn't do that...," Vivian groaned, "But I did see him last night..."

"Yeah, yeah. We heard that from you all night long, remember?" Jonni said.

"Well, thanks for the fucking help," Vivian frowned at her own friends. "I just want to figure out what is going on..."

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **19:48**

Vivian looked around, looking depressed. Finally, feeling like there was nothing more she could do, she began to lower her head.

"I've lost...everything," Vivian said to herself, feeling hopeless and blaming herself for everything that had gone wrong. And even in that moment, her memories of Kameron McBride she wanted to hold on to seem to be slipping away.

"I thought everything was back to normal. But it's not... and it's still happening," she muttered, scolding herself. "I've lost Kameron... and the nightmares keep on coming. Everything. Can life really change this much just like that...? To be honest, I-I don't know even know what's going on myself... Crap... Maybe I am going crazy... What have I done?"

Suddenly, Vivian stopped. "What _have_ I done?"

It made her pause. She took a few deep breaths to calm down.

"Okay. That night, it was like this...," Vivian said, pondering, glancing up and down at her surroundings, then she remembered as the vivid memories of day one, the first day, overtook her. "I had a bad dream the night before, so I was here drinking, trying to forget it. They all left early, and I stayed here. Then... then he walked in... Wait a second! That night, when he walked into the bar... There was something...or rather, _someone_..."

 _Wow... There's a lot of people here... But this ain't really my crowd._

 _I'm sorry, sir..._

Vivian had a realization in her eyes when the memory ended, and the voices faded away. She couldn't believe it - she had remembered everything. And now she knew there was someone else Cameron had talked to.

"Wait a minute, that's it...," Vivian said. "He spoke to somebody else besides me...!"

Vivian didn't know that someone else was still here - but then she saw the watching figure of...the Boss.

"Yes, may I help you...?" The Boss asked Vivian sharply.

Vivian shrank back. The Boss looked at her impassively.

But Vivian faced the bartender standing on the other side, "Don't play coy with me! I'm talking about Cameron! You saw him, didn't you?"

Vivian was sure the Boss said that her name was Mutton. She couldn't see beyond her sunglasses, but Vivian knew that she was looking at her. "Did you say something just now?" The Boss asked quietly.

Vivian swallowed. "It's Cameron. You've seen him, haven't you?"

The only people who could confirm having specifically seen Cameron were the women whom he had seduced. And yet...

"I beg your pardon...?" The Boss asked.

"I remember perfectly. That first night, I know you were talking to him. It didn't look like you were being seduced, though," Vivian replied. "Everyone else said that _they_ didn't see him! So, don't you think it's weird or crazy...that only _YOU_ did?!"

As Vivian talked, she became serious. She realized that she was holding onto Mutton's collar. She let them go for the moment.

"Me... see him...!?"

"Because of him, I'm starting to lose it! I already know that you're the key! Dammit, why didn't I realize it sooner...?"

"Vivian!?" She heard Eric's voice, followed by the sound of footsteps. But she didn't care.

Vivian's face was reflected in Mutton's sunglasses. It was the face of a woman being possessed. It took a couple of seconds for Vivian to realize that the face was hers.

"Stella told me that there was someone making girls and women have nightmares, that you and he are involved." Vivian replied to Mutton, "You saw him! I know you saw him! Answer me. I'm serious!"

"Come on, cut it out!" Eric grabbed her wrist. He was much stronger than he looked.

"Just say something!" Vivian pleaded, "Please... Tell me that you saw him!"

Mutton doubled over, coughing. "Heh, I suppose I have no choice," she muttered to herself as if to herself as she caught her breath. "Very well... If you must persist... Yes. I did indeed see him. He was blonde, wearing provocative white clothes, like lingerie..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's the one! And you saw him with me, yesterday! Right?!"

"Yes, of course," Mutton nodded as she chuckled, "It's your preference, isn't it? ...Boys like him. You are just full of surprises... Not only did you survive this long, but to think you figured me out. I must commend you for your perception."

"Well... I didn't really perceive anything. A lot happened, so I was a bit... freaked out," Vivian was confused, but then feeling satisfied. "Geesh, telling me that you didn't see him. There's no way he does not exist."

But that's when Mutton said something quite unexpected, "Well, normally that is the case. Normal people can't see him after all."

Vivian blinked, "...Wait, what?"

"That's only natural. After all, he isn't from this realm. It was rather unnatural, wasn't it? A boy like him, in a town like this. Either way, you don't need to worry. I have given up on showing you nightmares."

"...Showing me nightmares?" Vivian asked.

Mutton nodded, "It was quite a sight, watching you run like the wind."

"Uh...What are you talking about? He was here, right? Him... Cameron."

"Wait. You didn't rush me because..."

"I just... I just wanted proof that he really existed...," Vivian sighed. "I knew that you saw him... You did, right?" Vivian sighed.

"Ahh... I see..." Mutton nodded. "The usual, ma'am? Rum and cola, was it?"

But then, something about what Mutton just said hit Vivian with a question, "Hey, Boss... Can I ask you something? You see, I thought that nightmares were something that you see on your own... So, could it be...that...That someone else can show you one?"

"Well... I-I wonder..." Mutton mumbled. "Er, well, I wonder..."

"I wonder, my ass," Vivian halted her for a moment, feeling suspicious, "Pretty sure I learned that _you're_ somehow involved in all of this, right?" But then, she turned to Eric, who had heard everything, "Eric, did you heard all that?"

"Huh? Y-yeah, I did..." Eric answered, wanted to hear more. He couldn't wait to see and hear the suspense.

Then, Vivian turned back to Mutton, "So, what was that all about?"

Mutton seemed intrigued and smiled at Vivian as she asked, "Oooohhh, what did I say?"

"...That you were surprised that I survived? What does that mean?" Vivian answered.

Mutton shook her head, "I didn't say that."

"Yes, you did."

"...I didn't say it!"

Vivian hold onto Mutton's collar again, angrily, "Stop toying with me! I know that you're hiding something! Tell me! Why do I have to go through all of this shit?"

Mutton just smirked, "Oh, it's not just you... I was not expecting this turn of events..."

"SHUT UP! Every day has been unexpected for me!" Vivian shouted angrily, "And what is with these frickin' shades!? You are indoors!"

To answer Vivian's question, Mutton took off her sunglasses in front of her and Eric, showing them red sclera with black line-like pupils. She had the same red eyes of the sheep in the World of Nightmares.

"You...," Vivian gulped, "Who...the hell...are you?"

"Oh, stop..." Mutton laughed, being flattered.

"You're dealing with a desperate woman now!" Vivian was furious, "Thanks to you and your bullshit, Kameron and I are through! Explain yourself, you deceivble bitch!"

"Oh, you're so much fun to watch. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Trina Mutton," Mutton said, laughing evilly and introducing herself, "Oh, and to sum it all up... When there are people like you who spend a long amount of time with a partner without commitment, it impedes the population model. The rate of population growth is less than optimal. So, it's obvious that I had some of these hesitant ladies climb that..."

"Wait, you're talking about the nightmares!?" Eric asked, then he thought back about what Jonni and Orlanda said about their dreams. He was stunned by this realization "Y-You're the one behind all that...!?"

"Who...Who are you really?" Vivian asked.

"I have been given many names by your race since ancient times...," Mutton answered. "Wasting a man's time of greatest desires and fertility is like a hindrance to the future of the species. So, we separate these non-fruitful couples and redistribute the men to women who can follow the natural order, you see."

"Okay... So, what?" Vivian spoke, "You're just killing women who have a partner that they don't want to marry... Is that it?"

"Well, to put it bluntly...," Trina Mutton answered. "It is a sacrifice for a noble cause."

"You think I'm gonna accept your bullshit story!?"

"Oh, and please do not worry... You won't see that young, blonde man ever again."

"What do you mean?!"

Mutton giggled at her. "Do you really think I'm just gonna say it? That's too easy! Oh, what to do?"

"Quit the games!" Unable to stand it anymore, Vivian slammed the table.

"All right, have it your way, then. I know it'll just kill you to hear this, but I think I can live with that." Mutton sighed as she turned serious. "That blonde man you were trying to proof was just an incubus who worked for me. No more than a demon. It's laughable, really. He called you the cheater, but HE was a demon all along."

"Cameron was an incubus?!"

Cameron had seemed strangely seductive from the start here - that was true. But a demon...?

"An incubus in every sexy way. He only came to visit me recently. How could he possibly remember anything else?" Trina Mutton continued, "You get it? His memories with the cursed women were all erased, including the ones of Stella Delhomme. So, that means...All this time, he appears at will and seduces women, like you, who were under the curse...by appearing as their ideal man."

Eric gasped, "No way..."

"You're so stupid," Mutton sighed. "Don't you get it now? That's what 'Man's Wrath' is all about! If a woman is tempted, I used the arcade machine to plant a seed in their memories, which can transport them into the nightmare world, where they can climb danger-filled and slowly collapsing towers. The boy you've been cheated with and trying to proof he exists all this time is really an incubus who won women's hearts!"

Vivian swallowed, "So, then...because of all that...Kameron and I..."

"Oh, you _do_ get it!" Mutton crowed. "And that dream you had with the two boys in your life, that was all my hard work. If you think that you're going to sever ties with a long-time partner, what better way than with a messy affair, isn't that right? Do you understand everything now...?"

Vivian lowered her head at first, "...Yeah, I get it. I get everything. So, in the end, what am I guilty of?" Then, she turned to face Trina Mutton. "You think you're just gonna get away with this!?"

"Well... It isn't like I just started this job yesterday...," Trina Mutton scoffed, "After all, the reason you were born was because we weeded out the woman who was misleading your father. I do believe that was the case."

"You better stop fucking with me," Vivian cried.

Mutton raised her eyebrows and stared into Vivian's face. "If you don't believe me, that's fine. However, it was a necessary evil... Having a broken heart may be painful, but you've also earned your freedom. Plus, you have a fierce will to survive... You should be able to grasp happiness again soon enough."

"To me... He... He was already family," Vivian said. "I only realized that after I was dumped... How pathetic was that...?"

"Well, I really can't help you right there."

"This entire situation is your fault! So, what are you going to do about it!?"

Mutton scoffed, "You're the one who cheated. How is it my fault?"

"Well, it sure as hell ain't mine! You're the cause of it all! Plus, I was this close to get married, but you got your wish!"

"Ha... But that was only due to your cheating on him. Besides, it's too late to make up with him now!"

"You don't get to decide that!" Vivian shouted.

"If you really intend to push me... Then, perhaps, I will have to show you what I can really do. If that happens... then tonight will certainly be your last. Are you prepared to die?"

"Prepared to die...?" Vivian asked, "Tell you what... What if you die here before I do?"

Just then, a voice appeared. "Hey. You still alive?"

Jonni walked over. Orlanda and Tobi were behind her. It looked like they'd all arrived to get a drink and come to see what was going on.

"We came back since we're worried about you," Orlanda said, "Let's drink some more. We wouldn't be able to sleep, anyway!"

"But I didn't have any problem sleeping..." Tobi replied.

"...H-Hey, something happened?" Jonni asked, worried and concerned.

"You guys, Boss and Vivian are..." Eric began.

Vivian interrupted him, "It's fine. Don't say anything."

"But...!"

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked, confused.

"Sorry, I haven't finished my chat with her yet," Vivian tells the others. "Start the party without me."

As the girls went to their booth seat, Vivian turned to Mutton, "There's no point in dealing around with you... I'll let you off for now. But in return, about what you'd said, if I'm still alive tomorrow, you're gonna grant me my wish."

"W-Wait, Vivian! What're you saying!?" Eric was stunned.

Mutton's eerie smile deepened in response, "I'm telling you it's impossible... All you can do is try your best and survive in the dream."

"Then you should have no problem making that promise. If you really can control the nightmares, then make this one the last," Vivian said.

"It will be the last, whether you win or lose..." Mutton replied, "If you can overcome the nightmares, your wish will most likely be granted. You may have learned the truth. It may not be to the extent of what is circulating the rumors, but it should be to your satisfaction, at least."

Come to think of it, Vivian had heard such a rumor: Anyone who made it to the end of the nightmare world would have any wish of their choice granted.

"Not just for me," Vivian added. "Everyone else. All the cursed women. It all ends tonight."

Mutton sighed, "Very well... If you agree, then I honor your conditions."

As Vivian joined her friends for a drink, Eric began to ask her, "H-Hey, Vivian! Are you sure about this?"

"One week of this bullcrap was more than enough," Vivian answered. "And... Sorry to make you worry back there, but I gotta end this. Not so much with this...but with myself."

After things went settled, Vivian went back home.

* * *

 **Nightmare  
** **9th - Day**

An iron door closed behind her. The sound of it brought her back to consciousness. No - that wasn't the right expression.

Vivian was inside a dream. If anything, right now, it would be more accurate to say that she had completely lost consciousness.

A strong wind blew up from below. Her surroundings were almost entirely enshrouded in darkness. Her appearance was the same as always. All she wore was her panties and bra, all while wearing her long t-shirt, with a pillow in one hand.

Apparently, her real-world characteristics were reflected in this world, too. Vivian was the type who couldn't sleep soundly with a different pillow. In other words, this pillow, appearing in the nightmares, might be a symbol of Vivian's dislike of changes in her environment.

"What is this...? I can't see a damn thing."

Vivian was reminded of the previous nights. There was an enormous, prison-like room, and there was a room like the inside of a clock tower, and an abnormally chilly room with its incessantly falling snow.

This was the first time one had been pitch black, however.

"Hey, Mutton!" she called out into the empty space. "If this is your doing, I know you can hear me! At least answer!"

A huge laugh boomed throughout the whole area. It was almost as if the voice was coming from the very earth itself. "Of course, I can hear you. I can even see every inch of your pitiful form. Even Astaroth knew you would make it to the TOP top, even when he watched you humans from high above."

"All that hinting that the person who put me here was close to me, like it was a friend or a lover... When it was just the bartender!" Vivian muttered.

"'Just a bartender'!? I may not look it, but I am a goddess," came the echo of Mutton's voice once more. "You were brought here because you were tainted by desires, by temptation. This whole world is a place where sinners are tried. Astaroth ordered me to bring the lowest of the low, like you, here." Outside of the beams was a world enshrouded in clouds. The clouds gleamed as though illuminated by the light of dawn, flickering again and again like a breathing creature.

Vivian grunted, "You're talking like Astaroth's the one behind all this, huh? Show me his face!"

"You'll never see his face, not in 1,000 years! Besides, isn't knowing his name enough? Even though you are victorious," boomed the voice that seemed to shake the world. "To think you have this much will to survive. Just as I said... I, Trina Mutton, shall be your opponent."

Sensing a presence, Vivian looked over the edge of the block and peered down. Her instincts had been right. Something was emerging from out of the flickering clouds.

It was Mutton. Wearing her usual white tuxedo, she was seated on a luxurious single-seat sofa. The sofa itself moved towards him on a spiral-like trajectory.

But something wasn't right. The scale of her and the surrounding building didn't match up. It felt like she was looking at an unnatural composite photo. She wondered why, but the mystery was quickly solved.

Inside the dream, she was a giant. She reminded her of a beast that appeared in an old monster movie. The fact that her appearance was otherwise the same as usual only made her look all the more eerie.

"Greetings. We meet again," Mutton said with a hearty laugh. "Truly, it is a surprise that I didn't think you'd actually made it this far. That was a marvel to watch."

Mutton and the chair rose higher. She made laps around the levels of blocks, circling her as if observing an insect inside its prison. A movable support was attached to the bottom of the chair, the crane chair used by movie directions or cameramen.

"Well...It seems as though the others were altogether too easy on you. So, for tonight's extravaganza, I shall deal with you personally."

Vivian scoffed. So, this giant Trina Mutton was going to get in her way, too? So far, she had been attacked by a mechanical baby and her boyfriend-turned-monster, but Mutton topped them both in terms of her aura of intimidation and the absurdity of her being.

"...And you remember our deal, right?" Vivian replied. She was trying to force down her fear by talking.

"As I said... You have nothing to be concerned with such things. After all, tonight, you'll be dining on my 'Mutton Special' a dish that will take your breath away for good!"

"'Mutton Special'? Stop screwing around."

"It's a pity, but don't try not to get too worked up over it."

The chair carrying Trina Mutton circled around to the underside of the layers of cubes, her movements like that of a bee buzzing around nectar.

"Shut up... Let's get this over already! I'll outrun you, too!" Preparing herself for the worst, Vivian ran around in search of an escape but continued climbing, trying to put any possible distance between them. She dodged innumerable bullets, evaded kicks and reacted to the blocks as they continued to morph.

"How long is this gonna go on...?" Vivian sighed. She could tell, however, that she had climbed a considerable way up.

"Ngh..." Mutton, too, was starting to get out of breath. "This is tougher than I thought... This filthy woman is faster than I expected!"

"...Screw you! I'm not playing games here!" Vivian yelled, provoking her. "I'm almost there! Who's gonna win tonight, bitch!?"

"Whaaaat are you talking about!? I was just messing arrrround! Just making you connnnfidennnnt!"

The clouds surrounding the support pillars, exterior and air began to blacken. Mutton's chair sank beneath them, and immediately a different entity rose from within.

"A f-face!?" Vivian was shocked.

Mutton's body vanished, her head alone bloating further and making sharp rotations as it ascended, the same size as her whole body had been before.

Her hair and skin were a dull, metallic color. The left side of her face had collapsed as if festering, her skin and hair completely fused. The places where they connected hovered unnaturally like flames.

"Are those... sheep!?" Vivian literally see that the hair on Mutton's head was made up of a fusion of dull-colored sheep.

These were not ordinary sheep, but rather upright ones like those that Vivian had met in the nightmares. They all moved around of their own volition, desperately linking hands so as not to be thrown off. Even still several of them let go, unable to withstand Mutton's sudden movements, and plummeted with voiceless screams.

"But now I'm angrrry! Prepare yourself, boxer girllll!" Mutton shouted loudly as her remaining right eye glared, glinting like a searchlight. "I AM DUMUZA!"

"So, this is the final battle!? I've come this far... I'm not gonna die here, dammit!" Vivian cried.

Dumuza? Vivian had no idea what the words meant, but now she knows that Trina Mutton wasn't human. She would be more knowledgeable and sensical than a person.

Her dark grey mouth opened as she shouted, "I'll finish you off this time. Get reaaaaady!"

She made her declaration of war in a voice that reminded her of the rumbling of the earth, or perhaps the sound of a volcanic eruption. But the more emotional Mutton became, the calmer Vivian felt. Mutton's loquacity was proof that she was losing her composure.

Trina Mutton, alias Dumuza or Boss, may have been the one who created this world, but it didn't seem to be so easy for her to simply change up its rules. After all, she became a legend, stopped being human, and became one of the gods and goddesses. All the traps were created by her. She knew the place through and through, making her a difficult opponent. That meant that she was unable to move the place that had been designated as the goal.

Was that why Mutton was unable to keep his cool? Is it because Vivian was going to make it out alive?

Vivian looked up. Her vision expanded. A chain hung down from above. From it end hung a larger ring than she had ever seen before. With trembling legs, like that of a newborn lamb, she stood on tiptoe and pulled on the ring.

Vivian pulled it down as if embracing it, then collapsed to the ground. She felt like she heard several sounds of impact. She seemed to lose consciousness, just for a moment.

Sitting up, she could see a stack of blocks whose surfaces were covered with a red carpet. Mostly subconsciously, she crawled her way up the steps. The red carpet carried straight on ahead. On either side were flames in iron baskets that reminded her of the Olympic flame.

This place was like the other landings she had made it to but, instead of the usual confessional, there were huge double doors. Symbols depicting a man and a woman were carved into them.

"Is it... over...?" Vivian muttered. Then, she cheered, "Hell, yeah! Serves you right...!"

"I won't allow it..." Mutton's groan overlapped Vincent's mutter. "I won't allow it, you brat!"

Mutton's head rose up from beyond the red carpet in the direction from which she had just come, "I-I can't believe it... The hell is thiiis!?"

"It sucks, don't it!? Sorry to break it to you, but I won, Mutton!" Vivian snapped in reply. She had made it this far. She hadn't done anything underhanded. She had even survived an unprecedented level of absurdity, held on desperately through it all, and come out victorious. So, there was nothing for her to be complaining about.

"I can't lose... No, you'll never beat me, you bitch!" The gigantic head swayed like a pendulum. It didn't seem as though she was able to reach the landing. It might take her time to return to her human form.

"What?! Are you stupid? I already did beat you!"

Mutton's assembly of sheep hovered in mid-air as she continued, "SHUT UP! You're an even bigger fool than I thought, you little whore! You cannot deny the natural order or things! My noble cause could never be thwarted by your selfish desires! You're not going to prevent me from saving your race by being spoiled and stubborn!"

"Oh, come on... Is that still what you think!?" Vivian asked, "There's so much more to love than what assholes like you consider normal! Look, men and women... They're more complicated than you think!"

"You're just being selfish!"

"All right, Mutton. What I want...doesn't really matter," Vivian turned her back but spoke quietly, putting one foot in front of the other. She arrived in front of the doors. As she got closer, she could see that they were several times Vivian's height. She placed her hands against their surface and turned to Mutton, "People's lives aren't planned out for them. There's no roadmap. Despite what you may think, we don't need any herding. I mean, I can't claim to be the greatest girl in the world or anything, ... But I AM human! And I won't be told how to live by someone like YOU! I'm free to choose how I live!"

"You...! You insolent little woman!" Mutton began to say in objection.

But Vivian cut her off and continued as she looked at Mutton straight in her single eye. "Well, thank you, but I still won! You made me go through these stupid dreams, night after night! From now on... My life is my own!"

Vivian pushed hard on the door. She was at the limits of her strength and didn't think she could push or pull anymore, but with a clunk the door practically opened by itself.

Vivian pushed the door further open as light spilled in through the crack in the door, widening and beginning to illuminate the landing. Mutton turned her face away, as if twisting her body around.

Light filled the entire area, engulfing Vivian and the fires in their baskets that were placed at intervals, then enveloping the enormous Mutton.

"Impossible..." Fissures spread across Mutton's metallic face. The fissures began to expand like a spider's web. The sheep, running out of strength, released each other's hands and were swept away by the breeze, drifting through the air like fluff. The landing itself began to crumble from beneath Mutton. Everything lost its form.

"Immmmpossibllleeeeee!" Mutton screamed as she vanished.

Vivian turned her back on the dream world and stepped forward...


	12. DAY 9

**Day 9 - The Grand, True Finale**

 **9th - Day  
** **"Vivian's room"  
** **8:10**

 _Well, I did it! A total victory. Everyone's gonna be talking about me now, about how awesome I was! I've saved all the women from the nightmares, and now, we can all sleep the sleep of the just._

The morning after she had escaped from the final nightmare, Vivian had awoken safe and sound in her own bed.

"It's morning," Vivian smiled. Then, she cheered and doing her little victory dance. "Yeaaaaahhh! I did it! Everybody's safe! All the girls and women aren't dead anymore!"

Opening the window, she can see throughout town that all the women and girls woke up from the last nightmare as well. Happy to be alive, they all went to their loved ones. Even the news reported that they're all healthy and alive.

"...All right. Time to go!" Vivian said as she put on some clothes, pick up her phone, and was running happily to work.

At her job, all the women who woke up from the nightmares went up to congratulate her.

"Brooks, you made it!"

"Girl, we thought you were a goner, Viv."

"Man, I was so scared."

"You risked your life to save us. You're a hero, girl! A hero!"

"Thanks," Vivian said, happily.

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **12:31**

After that, Vivian had headed straight for the bar. It hadn't opened yet, but after knocking on the door, Trina Mutton had come out, swaying and covered in some that bandages covered the wounds.

Mutton quickly let Vivian inside, guiding her to a booth, and Vivian drank her rum and coke once more.

"Everything's really back to normal now..." Vivian said, smiling as she laid down for a little nap.

Then, a while later, when she woke up by a familiar voice, Vivian was surprised to realize that Kameron McBride was sitting beside her.

"Kameron!? What are you doing here?! I thought you-"

Kameron stopped her for a moment, "I thought you had Orlanda text me, so I wanted to talk to you myself..."

But then, Vivian sighed, "But I thought you didn't think of the future after all of this...!"

"Calm down for a second! ...Vivian, I came here to come back to you."

"Wait, you mean you and me...?" Vivian's eyes were widened in realization, "...You still thought about us back then...?"

"Of course, I did!" Kameron answered, "When I heard what you said in your sleep, that you didn't want to cheat on me, I was surprised. To tell you the truth, I, too, was confused...about our future, I guess. But I just snapped when I didn't believe you at first, and I'm sorry...! I know you did something you couldn't undo. You and me, we won't make excuses. But you and I realized something... How dear we were to each other... so, I understand that right now! So, please, whatever you want to say, I'll listen."

Vivian smiled, but then sighed once again in guilt, "Yeah, about that... There was something I want to tell you. About my cheating...it was all an illusion."

"...Huh?"

"There never was another man!" Vivian continued, "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm telling you the truth. I never cheated on you! I was losing it, and... I thought I was cheating... I know, I know... It all sounds like bullcrap... I was driving myself crazy, too... I mean, that's a problem in and of itself, but..."

"H-Hey now... Are you serious...?"

Vivian nodded, "...It's all true! My friends and even the Boss showed me it was all just in my head! I just didn't want it to end with a misunderstanding!"

Kameron lowered his head, "No way... That can't be true... Then, that means because of that, we broke up... You're not lying?"

"Of course, it's not a lie!" A voice appeared.

It was Jonni and Orlanda, who came into the bar.

"Long time, no see, K," Orlanda said to Kameron, "It'd been hard for anyone to believe a story like that at first. We didn't believe it either, until we heard it all from Eric."

"Besides, if Vivian really did cheat on you... Well, we wouldn't help her out like this."

Just then, Trina Mutton, the Boss, went up to them, "Um... About the 'Illusion'... It was my fault after all..."

 **A few explained things later, ...**

"...It's all true! So, please, believe me." Vivian pleaded, with tears in her eyes. "I know you can't forgive me for what I've done, but..."

Kameron stopped her by hugging her and rubbing her hair as he replied, "It's okay. You were just worried about how your life was going. How everything was being decided for you... Being tossed about by the world, so much stress... But after I dumped you, I figured it out that...my life has no meaning without you..."

"You're telling me this, so I'll never regret not telling you," Vivian smiled. "You will hold me dear for the rest of our lives. So, ...Yes. I will marry you."

"...Vivian, I love you." Kameron said, "Besides, I... I can barely believe this myself. Also, I've decided... I want to live with you."

"L-Live with me!?" Vivian was surprisingly blushed, "I've never heard of such a thing..."

"All I want is for you to be with me, we can do whatever we want, right?"

"Geez, how do I put this...? Okay, it's settled." Vivian cried, kissing Kameron.

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **20:11**

"...I guess I might be good enough," Tobi said, sighed. "I kinda knew that all along."

"Tobi? What's with this all of a sudden?" Jonni asked, confused.

"I gotta tell you girls something... I finally asked Eric out. BOOM!"

"Eh? You did what?!" Jonni, Orlanda, and Vivian asked in unison, shocked.

"Hey, you and Kameron are getting married, right?" Tobi asked Vivian, giggling. "Why do you care?"

"Yeah...," Vivian looked happily at her engagement ring.

"Wait, Tobi, are you serious?" Orlanda asked. "So that's what was with you...?"

Just then, WrasslInsanity 49 was on TV as the ringmaster announced, "WrasslInsanity 49 is almost upon us! A Galactic Men's Wrestling Champion will be crowned! Four fighters will lay it all on the line tonight! You can just feel the intensity burning up the hill tonight, folks!"

"Well, no one knows who'll win until it's over, right?" Vivian said to the others as they all smiled.

"YEEEEAAAHHHHH!" All the four girls cheered at the TV.


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 _Hey, everybody! It's me again, your anonymous host! Nice to be able to see you again. How did you enjoy the whole show?_

 _A perfect escape from the terrifying nightmare as Vivian led herself out with her exceptional skills! Heck, even Astaroth, the mastermind behind the nightmares and another of Ishtar's avatars, was amazed!_

 _Vivian Brooks finally live a comfortable and steady life full of excitement. The stairway she was forced to climb could be taken as a metaphor, though. After all, as Trisha/Ishtar did said, it symbolized the journey to adulthood, pressuring folks to make tough decisions..._

 _Oh, yeah! And the finale... Kameron beg Vivian to come back to her! I couldn't help but fell asleep while being hung on every word, wondering how Kameron would react to Vivian's desperate plea._

 _These two lovebirds were at loss as they poured their hearts out to each other... But in the end, Vivian answered Kameron with a smile._

 _Anyway, this was the answer Vivian discovered after forging through her nightmarish ordeal. Kameron must have felt the strength of her conviction, and he knew that this was her "true answer." Maybe it just depends on how much of Vivian's feelings that he can sense._

 _Hey, man, don't look at me like that. I had to bring in some kind of ending here, right? It'd be worse if nobody finds out, wouldn't it?_

 _So, in the meantime... Let's peer a bit into their future together, shall we?_

 _Well, gotta go now! I am outta here. As Trisha always says, 'Stay golden.'_

* * *

 **"Vivian's room"  
** **A few months later...**

Vivian slowly opened her eyes as she woke up in her room. She looked around, as if everything's still the same as before.

"Good morning, you..." Kameron said to Vivian as he woke up as well, wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh, hey... How long have you been awake?"

"All this time," Kameron answered.

"No kidding'?" Vivian asked, giggling.

"It's not you let me get any sleep...," Kameron replied, laughing. That made Vivian laughed and purring at him seductively as well, and the two resumed their sexy lovin' time.

A few minutes later, ...

"I wonder what design I should go with," Vivian was reading some wedding magazine, looking at wedding dress designs. "...I mean, I thought I don't usually wear white all that often. You think it'll look good on me?"

"You look good in anything, you know that," Kameron replied, "Oh yeah... Have you decided who you're going to invite to the wedding? I've already picked out everyone that I want."

"I picked out about a few friends," Vivian answered. "I mean, we already invited Jonni, Orlanda, Tobi, and Eric, right?"

Kameron nodded. Then, the two heard a stomach growl, but Kameron giggled, "Well, that wasn't me."

"Hey, want to go for a bite?" Vivian asked.

"I can go for a bite," Kameron answered, "Let's hurry then, before they run out of 'lamb kebab'. Up and at 'em, huh?"

"Okay. I got it. So just move and I can..."

"Aw, what?! You're the one who's being Ms. Lazy Bones..." Kameron laughed.

* * *

 **"Stray Sheep"  
** **A few months later...**

"Uh, testing, 1, 2, 3...," Trina Mutton cleared her throat, taking the mic, and began to speak, "Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. And now, ...Here comes the bride!"

On the other side to Kameron, the lights around the bar's entrance grew even brighter and Vivian, clad in a wedding dress, drew into view. The snow-white fabric complemented her black hair.

The pathway between the booths had been transformed into an aisle. She was unaccompanied.

Vivian appeared to giggle, then began to walk silently. Her friends welcomed her with applause.

Vivian came to a stop beside Kameron. She looked up and grinned at him, then spontaneously linked arms with him.

Tobi whistled and excitedly said things like, "You look good together!" The others, too, called out congratulatory words. They turned back to look at each other.

"If you would all please raise your glasses." Mutton looked around at all of their faces as she and everyone raised her own glass high in the air. Vivian and Kameron, too, were handed champagne glasses. "To the couple's eternal happiness, folks! A toast!"

Clear sounds echoed around. Vivian and Kameron put their glasses together and looked into each other's eyes, and cheerful music began to play inside the bar.

They continued drinking, being rowdy, and even dancing a little as the song, " _Love You So_ " by Bleu, is playing.

Mutton sighed, "...Boy, I can't believe they're making do this..."

A drunk Eric ordered Mutton around, "Hey, Boss! More champagne, let's go!"

"I'm on it...!"

Tobi was doing the filming of the celebration, until Jonni turned to her when she noticed that Tobi had accidentally recording her saying that she should start looking for her soulmate.

"Tobi, you idiot!" Jonni shouted at her as she took the camera away from her hands, "Don't record me without telling me!"

"Come on, what's the big deal?" Tobi shrugged.

While Jonni tried to undo that recorded footage, Tobi went to Orlanda, "So just what's Chieftess really looking for when she talks about meeting her 'soulmate'?"

"I don't know, I never asked her," Orlanda said.

Just then, Eric went up to them, "Hey, what're you gals talking about?"

"So, I heard the news," Orlanda replied. "This place ain't closing down after all?"

"That's right!" Eric answered, "Good for me since I get to hang onto my job. Although the Boss...She's not gonna stop hitting on me."

The three looked at the Boss, who waved at Eric. Eric sighed as Orlanda said, "She's kind of an odd one, huh?"

"It'll be fine," Jonni said as she went up to them, "I mean, I don't believe anything she said... But I'll go on drinking here if it keeps those dreams away. And besides, if this place ever goes under, then this town will have nothing going for it, right?"

"That's right," Orlanda said. "Can't have our local hangout close on us." Then, she looked at Vivian and Kameron, "Anyway, Vivian looks great in that outfit. She's wasted on you, K!"

"Girl, I'm soooo jealous!" Tobi pushed past Orlanda, brandishing a mug of beer. She already seemed to be fairly drunk. "Life is so friggin' unfair, ya know? Compared to her, I'm never gonna win big like her..."

"Oh, don't you worry now. We'll always have each other, sweet pea. After all, I'll keep you company whenever you want." Eric poked his face over Tobi's shoulder, wrapping his arms around her.

"E-Eric..." Tears of joy filled Tobi's eyes. "Wait, I thought the others knew you as 'Erica' back in school. And to think, I want my precious V-Card back...!"

Just then, Orlanda's ex-husband, Conner, arrived when she turned around, "Ah, hey, what took you so long?"

"The ferry was running behind...," Conner answered.

Orlanda then tells the others that they, too, have decided to get back together and that Conner is going to be working for the fishing industry to work exclusively for Kappa.

"What, just Kappa?" Tobi asked.

"You better believe it...," Orlanda answered. "He's going to be after the rarest beast in the sea... Eating one will give you peerless virility."

"Wow, that's awesome, Orlanda!" Tobi cheered. "You two really know your stuff."

"You got her believing in Kappa now?" Conner asked Orlanda, "She never learns!"

"No such thing..." Jonni muttered.

"Guys, head up!" Tobi shouted, "The star of the show has just arrived!"

"Yo, congrats." Orlanda strolled over. She now held the same bottle as always in her hand. It didn't seem to have been her first. "Make sure you keep your man happy, 'kay?"

"Sorry, everyone," Vivian cut in at a suitable time, taking Kameron's hand and addressing them all. "We're gonna be off now. We leave tonight."

"Your honeymoon? Nice," Eric said enviously, narrowing his eyes.

"How convenient..."

"So, anyway. We'll be off now." Kameron stood up, linking arms with Vivian once more.

Vivian waved her free hand, smiling innocently, "Later, everyone!"

As they leave, Tobi has Eric chase her after she catches Vivian's wedding bouquet, and the party goes on as the next music, " _Livin' La Vida Loca_ " by Ricky Martin, plays.

Outside the Stray Sheep bar, Kameron put his arm around Vivian's shoulders, looking outside. Countless stars twinkled, but they couldn't perceive their depth. They seemed like a few bright points drawn on a pitch-black screen.

"So, tell me, Viv..." Kameron began to spoke. "Are you happy?"

"Yeah. More than ever," Vivian said as leaned her head, resting it against Kameron's shoulder. She had overcome incredible trials to reunite with Kameron and all those who aligned with her. Whether she was attacked by a demon, one way or another, she would deal with something difficult. "When I first met you, my world flipped upside down. I wouldn't be the woman I am now if it weren't for you. Now that the world can see we're meant to be together, and I'll spend the rest of my life proving it. I love you, Kameron."

Kameron leans close and passionately tells her, "I love you too, Vivian. I'm here for you... No matter what, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you happy forever."

 **THE END! (That's all, Folks!)**


End file.
